New Street Research upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS – Free Report) to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.
ASTS has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research raised AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group decreased 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. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $79.45.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on AST SpaceMobile
AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance
AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The business had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.20) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.
Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile
In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total value 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. The trade was a 89.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,412,448,964.10. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 3,095,000 shares of company stock valued at $275,597,100 in the last 90 days. 20.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. Vodafone Ventures Ltd acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at $397,413,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth $198,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 13.4% in the third 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. acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter worth $90,129,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company’s stock.
Key AST SpaceMobile News
Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:
- Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile welcomed the announcement that AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are forming a satellite-to-phone joint venture to improve coverage in dead zones. Investors see this as validation of ASTS’s direct-to-device satellite connectivity market and a potential boost to future demand. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: New Street Research launched coverage of the space economy and included AST SpaceMobile among the stocks it is tracking, which can draw more investor attention to the name and support trading interest. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ views remain mixed, but one new report says consensus has turned to “Reduce,” reflecting caution after ASTS’s recent earnings miss and ongoing execution concerns. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares at $76.34, a move that may be viewed as insider selling and could weigh on sentiment despite the remaining stake. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Post-earnings commentary continues to highlight a Q1 miss, darker consensus forecasts, and execution/competition risks, which reinforces concerns about AST SpaceMobile’s near-term fundamentals. Article Title
About AST SpaceMobile
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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