AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $121.36 and last traded at $120.83, with a volume of 9744240 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $111.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on ASTS shares. B. Riley lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays downgraded AST SpaceMobile from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 8.9%

The firm has a market cap of $44.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -97.77 and a beta of 2.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $80.00 and its 200 day moving average is $66.01. The company has a quick ratio of 9.48, a current ratio of 9.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.04 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 27.76% and a negative net margin of 1,639.59%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.10) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1236.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total value of $773,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 382,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,572,882.50. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total transaction of $159,631,314.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 211,379 shares in the company, valued at $14,743,685.25. The trade was a 91.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 2,765 shares of company stock worth $187,236 and have sold 2,354,621 shares worth $164,348,075. Company insiders own 30.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,351,539 shares during the period. Clear Street Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter valued at about $90,129,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,104,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,185,000 after purchasing an additional 168,832 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 37.8% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 843,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,411,000 after purchasing an additional 231,549 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in AST SpaceMobile by 125.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 782,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,382,000 after purchasing an additional 434,615 shares in the last quarter. 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.