AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Up 11% After Analyst Upgrade

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) rose 11% during mid-day trading on Thursday after New Street Research upgraded the stock to a hold rating. The company traded as high as $84.51 and last traded at $83.01. Approximately 27,002,444 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 67% from the average daily volume of 16,148,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.81.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, March 27th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $79.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total value of $3,555,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $422,180. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total transaction of $154,499,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 29,330,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,681,362,770.10. This trade represents a 5.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,095,000 shares of company stock worth $275,597,100 over the last quarter. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting AST SpaceMobile

Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile announced a satellite-to-phone joint venture to extend coverage in dead zones, which investors may see as validation of AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-device business model and a sign of growing demand for space-based mobile connectivity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile publicly welcomed the carriers’ joint venture, reinforcing the idea that its space-based cellular network could become an important part of future mobile coverage efforts. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research launched a new space-economy coverage group and included ASTS on its initial list, which can increase investor attention and trading interest in the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains cautious overall, with a reported consensus rating of “Reduce,” reflecting mixed views on AST SpaceMobile’s execution and valuation. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares, a move that can weigh on sentiment because insider selling sometimes signals reduced confidence, even though he still holds a meaningful stake. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent post-earnings coverage continues to highlight ASTS’s Q1 miss, weaker forecasts, and execution risks, which may limit upside despite the positive carrier news. Article Title

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 16,350.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $84.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 18.47 and a quick ratio of 16.27. The firm has a market cap of $31.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.01 and a beta of 2.60.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The business had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

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.