AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 3.4% – Here’s Why

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares rose 3.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $25.69 and last traded at $25.44. Approximately 4,968,804 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 12,569,380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $47.90 to $45.40 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.40.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 5.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 5.80 and a current ratio of 5.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of -11.97 and a beta of 2.05.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $0.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $1,475,100.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total value of $614,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 52,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,617,258.44. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 34.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rakuten Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth $705,398,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,987,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,233,000 after acquiring an additional 4,955,941 shares during the last quarter. Alphabet Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter valued at $203,375,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,496,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,801,000 after purchasing an additional 229,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth $59,523,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and provides access to a space-based cellular broadband network for smartphones in the United States. Its SpaceMobile service provides cellular broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.