AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading 6.1% Higher – Here’s Why

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares rose 6.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $67.20 and last traded at $66.12. 12,002,074 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 17,176,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. New Street Research set a $106.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $93.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. B. Riley Financial raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Scotiabank upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.80 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.58.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 6.1%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.38. The company has a quick ratio of 12.90, a current ratio of 13.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.90 and a beta of 2.74.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.45). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 22.88% and a negative net margin of 536.66%.The business had revenue of $31.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.41) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, Director Adriana Cisneros acquired 10,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $57.22 per share, with a total value of $619,234.84. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 797,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,605,656.06. The trade was a 1.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 503,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,244,498.39. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 20.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASTS. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 8,016.7% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,269,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,967 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth about $996,000. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $2,290,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 259.5% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 23,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,942,000 after buying an additional 16,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,329,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.