AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 8% – Time to Buy?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares shot up 8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $61.88 and last traded at $61.44. 11,865,798 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 11,983,491 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ASTS. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays cut AST SpaceMobile from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, November 24th. Scotiabank raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.60 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 1.7%

The stock has a market cap of $27.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.61 and a beta of 2.76. The company has a quick ratio of 9.48, a current ratio of 9.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $69.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.72.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 1,639.59% and a negative return on equity of 27.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 1236.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.10) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total value of $1,623,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $192,755. The trade was a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Adriana Cisneros acquired 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.79 per share, with a total value of $38,092.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 784,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,823,270.83. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 30.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 225.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.