AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 2.4% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) were up 2.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $52.01 and last traded at $51.39. Approximately 7,330,306 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 12,484,473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on ASTS shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.40 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.73.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 4.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.57 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a current ratio of 10.62, a quick ratio of 10.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.96.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced 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). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 23.56% and a negative net margin of 7,033.22%. The firm had revenue of $0.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 million. On average, analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $1,475,100.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total transaction of $541,200.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 315,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,389,265.36. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 184,250 shares of company stock worth $6,146,750. Corporate insiders own 41.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at approximately $705,398,000. Alphabet Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth $203,375,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,987,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,233,000 after purchasing an additional 4,955,941 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth $59,523,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 1,992.5% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 843,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,182,000 after buying an additional 803,240 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.