AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 1.8% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares rose 1.8% to $59.10, but remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $68.00 and $81.51, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with four Buy, six Hold and two Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold, while the average price target of $85.98 implies potential upside.
• The company missed quarterly expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $0.77 per share versus an expected $0.32 loss and revenue of $31.52 million versus $34.53 million expected. Insiders recently sold shares, while institutional investors own 60.95% of the stock.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $59.40 and last traded at $59.10. Approximately 8,262,428 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 17,352,119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ASTS. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. B. Riley Financial upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.98.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $23.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.62 and a beta of 2.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.51. The company has a quick ratio of 12.90, a current ratio of 13.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $31.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.53 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 536.66% and a negative return on equity of 22.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.41) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total value of $3,854,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. The trade was a 53.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total transaction of $4,297,342.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 503,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,244,498.39. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 20.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,548 shares of the company's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 3,642 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,814,000 after buying an additional 3,515 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 467,626 shares of the company's stock worth $10,634,000 after buying an additional 64,989 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 325,621 shares of the company's stock worth $7,405,000 after buying an additional 49,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth about $168,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

AST SpaceMobile is a U.S.-based aerospace company developing a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect standard mobile phones and other devices directly to satellites. The company's core proposition is “space-to-cell” service: operating a constellation of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites equipped with large, high-power phased-array antennas to provide wide-area mobile broadband without requiring users to buy specialized terminals or handset modifications.

AST SpaceMobile designs, builds and operates satellite payloads and supporting ground infrastructure.

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