AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 1.6% After Insider Selling

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) fell 1.6% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $90.81 and last traded at $92.06. 13,589,596 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 17,706,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.60.

Specifically, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total transaction of $3,854,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. This trade represents a 53.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ASTS. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $81.33.

Key AST SpaceMobile News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile’s confirmed June 17 launch of BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 is a key catalyst, as investors see progress toward scaling its direct-to-smartphone satellite broadband network and meeting 2026 deployment goals. Article: Can AST SpaceMobile’s Upcoming Satellite Launch Advance Connectivity?
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors are still bullish on the long-term opportunity, with commentary suggesting ASTS could benefit if SpaceX/Starlink-related hype lifts interest across space stocks, and that ASTS may have a differentiated position in the satellite connectivity market. Article: The SpaceX IPO Is Closer Than You Think. These Are the Stocks That Win When It Happens.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a current ratio of 18.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.06 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.89 and a 200-day moving average of $87.38.

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

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KPP Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,649,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 1,062.9% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 77,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,665,000 after acquiring an additional 71,287 shares during the period. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,290,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 31,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 6,901 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 232,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,882,000 after acquiring an additional 48,318 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.