AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 3.4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares fell 3.4% to $59.88 in mid-day trading, with volume down 59% from the average. The stock has a $23.3 billion market capitalization and remains well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss, posting EPS of -$0.77 versus the -$0.32 consensus, while revenue of $31.52 million also missed estimates. Analysts expect a full-year loss of approximately $1.95 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: ASTS has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $85.98. Meanwhile, the CTO and CFO sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans, while institutional investors own about 60.95% of the stock.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $59.43 and last traded at $59.88. Approximately 7,207,897 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 17,516,154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $93.00 price objective on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $50.80 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.98.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 3.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.98 and a beta of 2.75. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.34. The company has a current ratio of 13.05, a quick ratio of 12.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

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

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 11,947.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,526,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,801,449,000 after acquiring an additional 31,264,875 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 95.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the company's stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 59.9% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,947 shares of the company's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,479 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 100.5% during the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 16,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 8,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

About AST SpaceMobile

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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