AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 6.2% – Here’s What Happened

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)’s stock price traded down 6.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $52.80 and last traded at $53.03. Approximately 12,342,372 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 18,383,068 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.55.

AST SpaceMobile News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank upgraded ASTS to “sector perform” from “sector underperform,” citing the company’s partnerships and upcoming satellite launches as potential growth catalysts. However, the firm’s $50.80 price target remains below the stock’s recent trading level, limiting the bullish impact. Scotiabank ASTS rating update
• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile scheduled the launch of BlueBird satellites 11, 12 and 13 for August 5 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral. The mission is an important step toward expanding network capacity and advancing commercial service. AST SpaceMobile BlueBird launch announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Vodafone said the AST partnership is “definitely” worthwhile and is targeting an early-2027 U.K. beta launch, providing additional validation and a potential path to initial service revenue. Vodafone AST partnership update

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ASTS shares. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. New Street Research set a $106.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.60.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.79 and a beta of 2.69. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.08.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The firm had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. AST SpaceMobile’s quarterly revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total value of $3,854,800.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. The trade was a 53.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total transaction of $1,145,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,300,865.26. The trade was a 25.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 105,809 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,492 in the last ninety days. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

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.