AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading 2.7% Higher – Here’s Why

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTSGet Free Report)’s share price rose 2.7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $133.86 and last traded at $133.09. Approximately 21,072,529 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 23% from the average daily volume of 17,186,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.60.

More AST SpaceMobile News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research raised AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $79.45.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on ASTS

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 18.37, a current ratio of 18.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $86.86 and a 200-day moving average of $84.60. The stock has a market cap of $51.65 billion, a PE ratio of -74.77 and a beta of 2.60.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTSGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The company had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.20) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AST SpaceMobile news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.22, for a total value of $116,397,000.00. Following the sale, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 5,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.25, for a total value of $451,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 565,805 shares in the company, valued at $51,063,901.25. This represents a 0.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,100,000 shares of company stock worth $276,048,350 over the last quarter. 20.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,292 shares during the period. Vodafone Ventures Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $397,413,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425,199 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,522,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,749,000 after acquiring an additional 402,505 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,951,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,011,000 after acquiring an additional 350,690 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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