AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $83.67, but opened at $87.82. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $86.0010, with a volume of 6,571,603 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $79.45.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $33.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.48 and a beta of 2.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $84.48 and its 200 day moving average is $83.10. The company has a quick ratio of 18.37, a current ratio of 18.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released 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 analyst estimates of $39.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 3,642 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 3,515 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 467,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,634,000 after acquiring an additional 64,989 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 49,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $168,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

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.