Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS)

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 102,923 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 68% compared to the typical volume of 61,434 call options.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

Shares of ASTS traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $25.62. 14,672,668 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,917,909. AST SpaceMobile has a 52-week low of $1.97 and a 52-week high of $39.08. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.53. The company has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of -12.08 and a beta of 1.62.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 2,955 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 2,418.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 29,795 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter valued at $266,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 7.0% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 51,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 141.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 103,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after acquiring an additional 60,530 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $44.70 to $40.20 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.04.

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.