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

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $42.41, but opened at $36.91. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $40.20, with a volume of 10,913,072 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ASTS. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. William Blair started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $38.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.98.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 6.3%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 8.23 and a current ratio of 8.23. The firm has a market cap of $14.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.11 and a beta of 2.43.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.22). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 26.81% and a negative net margin of 7,213.90%.The business had revenue of $1.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 million. Research analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total value of $147,050.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 20,750 shares in the company, valued at $717,950. This trade represents a 17.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total value of $1,049,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 397,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,860,012.80. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,615,050. 34.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Alphabet Inc. bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,375,000. Rakuten Group Inc. purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth $705,398,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth $14,750,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 117.5% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 51,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 28,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

About AST SpaceMobile

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.