AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTSGet Free Report)’s share price shot up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $92.57 and last traded at $89.58. 19,586,515 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 19% from the average session volume of 16,396,018 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.10.

Key AST SpaceMobile News

Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASTS. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $79.45.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on ASTS

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 10.0%

The company has a current ratio of 18.47, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $40.44 billion, a PE ratio of -59.47 and a beta of 2.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.65 and its 200 day moving average is $83.31.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTSGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.20) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,180. This trade represents a 89.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,100,000 shares of company stock worth $276,048,350 in the last quarter. Insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Calton & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 13,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $986,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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