AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

ASTS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, March 27th. B. Riley Financial lowered their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $43.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Scotiabank lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and set a $45.60 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $77.10.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 5.9%

Shares of ASTS opened at $85.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $32.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -64.79 and a beta of 2.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 16.27 and a current ratio of 16.35. AST SpaceMobile has a fifty-two week low of $20.26 and a fifty-two week high of $129.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.10.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $54.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.53 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 23.02% and a negative net margin of 482.16%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2731.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.22, for a total transaction of $116,397,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,980,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,412,448,964.10. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,180. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,080,000 shares of company stock valued at $274,452,000 over the last quarter. 30.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vodafone Ventures Ltd bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth $397,413,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth $198,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,919,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351,539 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter worth $90,129,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425,199 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: BlueBird‑7 launch scheduled for April 19 — a proximate operational catalyst that could validate ASTS technology and reduce execution uncertainty if successful; company invited qualified retail shareholders to attend the live launch. AST SpaceMobile Announces BlueBird 7 Launch Date
• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile endorsement — Jim Cramer spoke favorably about ASTS on Mad Money (“Let’s own this one”), which can stimulate retail buying and short‑term momentum. Jim Cramer on AST SpaceMobile: “Let’s Own This One”
• Positive Sentiment: Improved commercial outlook and liquidity cited — analysis highlights FY25 revenue growth, FY26 guidance ($150–$200M) and a path to $1B by FY27, plus a $1.2B contracted backlog and ~$3.9B in liquidity, which reduces near‑term dilution risk. AST SpaceMobile: From Cash Burn To Dominance
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional accumulation reported — recent filings show large asset managers (Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, State Street) increasing positions, which supports longer‑term demand for shares. MarketBeat ASTS profile
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity — call open interest spiked (~172,934 calls bought, ~39% above average), indicating elevated bullish speculation or hedging but not guaranteeing directional follow‑through. (no direct article link)
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are re‑pricing the sector after Amazon’s Globalstar deal; some early buying as the market digests competitive implications and what it means for spectrum value and partner strategies. AST SpaceMobile shares climb as investors digest Amazon’s Globalstar deal
• Negative Sentiment: Major insider selling — billionaire shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani disclosed multi‑day sales totaling several million shares (sales at avg. ~$86–$91), a meaningful reduction in his stake that can create selling pressure and signal liquidity needs. SEC ownership filing
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade / negative notes — at least one downgrade and critical takes on competitive/regulatory risk have been published, which can prompt short‑term selling and tighten margin for error ahead of the launch. AST SpaceMobile Trading Down After Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk from Amazon/Globalstar — a deep‑pocketed entrant and spectrum consolidation raise the stakes for market share and spectrum access, a structural headwind for ASTS if competition intensifies. Why AST SpaceMobile Stock Is Retreating After Amazon’s Globalstar Deal

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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.