AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 9.2% – What’s Next?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) traded down 9.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $62.31 and last traded at $62.35. 10,758,474 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 17,629,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ASTS. New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. B. Riley Financial raised AST SpaceMobile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.98.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 9.2%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 13.05 and a quick ratio of 12.90. The company has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.14 and a beta of 2.76.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.45). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 536.66% and a negative return on equity of 22.88%. The business had revenue of $31.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total transaction of $4,297,342.29. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,244,498.39. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 11,947.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,526,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,801,449,000 after buying an additional 31,264,875 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 95.4% during the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 59.9% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,479 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 100.5% in the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 16,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 8,348 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.