AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 14.8% – Here’s Why

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares traded up 14.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $75.40 and last traded at $75.05. 22,279,658 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 43% from the average session volume of 15,576,716 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ASTS shares. B. Riley Financial cut their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $43.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 target price on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $82.51.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 14.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $28.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.86 and a beta of 2.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $85.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 16.35 and a quick ratio of 16.27.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.08). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 23.02% and a negative net margin of 482.16%.The firm had revenue of $54.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.53 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2731.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.22, for a total transaction of $116,397,000.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,180. This trade represents a 89.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,080,000 shares of company stock worth $274,452,000. Corporate insiders own 30.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 532,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,158,000 after purchasing an additional 172,759 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the third quarter worth about $1,882,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth about $1,649,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 1,062.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 28.0% in 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 in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.