AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Down 5.3% – Time to Sell?

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) were down 5.3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $80.11 and last traded at $80.64. 11,989,341 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 18,740,365 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on ASTS shares. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. New Street Research set a $106.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $85.09.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.77. The company has a market capitalization of $29.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.11 and a beta of 2.69. The company has a current ratio of 18.47, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted its 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). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The company had revenue of $14.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,619 shares in the company, valued at $47,244,498.39. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total transaction of $1,145,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,865.26. This trade represents a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,145,809 shares of company stock valued at $280,645,292 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at about $259,000. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth approximately $1,379,000. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,959,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 34.2% in the second quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 13.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is 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.