AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Key Points

• UBS Group has increased its price target for AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) from $38.00 to $62.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.82% from the current stock price and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Despite the optimistic outlook, shares of AST SpaceMobile experienced a 1.5% decline during trading, closing at $49.28.
• The company reported a disappointing quarterly earnings result with an EPS of ($0.41), falling short of the consensus estimate of ($0.19).

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $38.00 to $62.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group's price target points to a potential upside of 33.85% from the company's previous close.

ASTS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 16th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.41.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ASTS traded down $1.8390 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $46.3210. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,217,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,923,111. The stock has a market cap of $14.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.55 and a beta of 2.33. AST SpaceMobile has a one year low of $17.50 and a one year high of $60.95. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $48.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 8.23 and a quick ratio of 8.23.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.22). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,213.90% and a negative return on equity of 26.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total value of $1,782,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 545,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,450,461.75. The trade was a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.84, for a total value of $418,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 305,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,789,107.28. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 129,250 shares of company stock worth $4,671,650 over the last quarter. Insiders own 41.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and provides access to a space-based cellular broadband network for smartphones in the United States. Its SpaceMobile service provides cellular broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.