AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS – Get Free Report)’s stock price shot up 2.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $77.68 and last traded at $74.81. 14,848,624 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 16,013,395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.96.
More AST SpaceMobile News
Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:
- Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile is being highlighted by traders as a potential short-squeeze candidate, which can add upward pressure if bearish bets are forced to cover. Short Squeeze Candidates: AST SpaceMobile, Wolfspeed
- Positive Sentiment: Commentary around the company continues to emphasize its large addressable market and “5X” upside potential, keeping speculative interest in the stock elevated. Easy 5X? AST Spacemobile Could Be Bigger Than Verizon and AT&T
- Neutral Sentiment: Broader market futures were slightly higher despite fresh inflation data and Fed jitters, which may be helping risk appetite for high-volatility names like ASTS. US Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Futures Rise On Fresh Inflation And Fed Jitters
- Negative Sentiment: The main recent drag remains AST SpaceMobile’s first-quarter miss, with wider-than-expected losses and revenue below estimates, sparking a sharp selloff earlier in the week. AST SpaceMobile shares fall after Q1 earnings miss on revenue, wider loss
- Negative Sentiment: Investors are also weighing higher capex and continued losses, which reinforce concerns that profitability is still a long way off despite revenue growth and operational progress. Ast Spacemobile shares sink after earnings miss and rising capex shock
Analysts Set New Price Targets
ASTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 target price on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $83.83.
AST SpaceMobile Price Performance
The company has a quick ratio of 16.27, a current ratio of 16.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $85.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.03 and a beta of 2.60.
AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 28.24%. The firm had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. AST SpaceMobile’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In other news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $422,180. The trade was a 89.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.22, for a total value of $116,397,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,980,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,412,448,964.10. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,080,000 shares of company stock valued at $274,452,000. 20.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 48.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 532,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,158,000 after acquiring an additional 172,759 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,882,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,649,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 1,062.9% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 77,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,665,000 after purchasing an additional 71,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 28.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 31,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 6,901 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
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.
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