AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 10% – Time to Buy?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) traded up 10% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $107.59 and last traded at $105.86. 29,433,675 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 77% from the average session volume of 16,619,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. New Street Research assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 target price on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $79.45.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 10.0%

The company has a current ratio of 18.47, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.65 and a 200 day moving average of $83.31. The company has a market cap of $40.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -59.47 and a beta of 2.60.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced 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). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The business had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total transaction of $154,499,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,330,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,681,362,770.10. This represents a 5.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. This trade represents a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,100,000 shares of company stock valued at $276,048,350 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 16,350.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 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.