AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $71.45, but opened at $76.13. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $77.6470, with a volume of 5,591,594 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $85.09.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 13.8%

The stock has a market cap of $31.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.77 and a beta of 2.70. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.23. The company has a quick ratio of 18.37, a current ratio of 18.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted 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 business had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.20) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,300,865.26. This trade represents a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $4,297,342.29. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,244,498.39. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,145,809 shares of company stock worth $280,645,292. Insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 11.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 3,642 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 3,515 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 16.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 467,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,634,000 after acquiring an additional 64,989 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 325,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,405,000 after acquiring an additional 49,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth about $168,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

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.