AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 1.8% – What’s Next?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) was up 1.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $57.81 and last traded at $56.52. Approximately 4,222,701 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 12,020,429 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ASTS shares. Zacks Research lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, November 24th. Scotiabank raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.60 target price for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 1.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 9.48, a current ratio of 9.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.74 billion, a PE ratio of -45.58 and a beta of 2.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.59.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.27). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 1,639.59% and a negative return on equity of 27.76%. The business had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.10) earnings per share. AST SpaceMobile’s revenue was up 1236.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Adriana Cisneros acquired 750 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $50.79 per share, for a total transaction of $38,092.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 784,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,823,270.83. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 387,485 shares in the company, valued at $21,699,160. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 30.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Group Inc. bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth $705,398,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,919,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,668,000 after buying an additional 2,351,539 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter worth about $90,129,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 1,992.5% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 843,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,182,000 after buying an additional 803,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter valued at about $14,750,000. Institutional investors 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.