AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 3.8% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) were up 3.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $89.96 and last traded at $86.83. Approximately 23,904,647 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 47% from the average daily volume of 16,293,793 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ASTS shares. New Street Research started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research raised AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 price objective on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $79.45.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $34.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.33 and a beta of 2.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $84.48 and a 200 day moving average of $83.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 18.47 and a quick ratio of 18.37.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The firm’s revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.20) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total transaction of $3,555,200.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,180. This trade represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. The trade was a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,095,000 shares of company stock valued at $275,597,100 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 11.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 3,642 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 4.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,515 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 16.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 467,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,634,000 after purchasing an additional 64,989 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 325,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,405,000 after purchasing an additional 49,811 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at approximately $168,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.