AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 9.1% – Time to Buy?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares shot up 9.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $105.20 and last traded at $101.79. 15,806,056 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 17,528,842 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank cut AST SpaceMobile from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and set a $45.60 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. B. Riley Financial downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays lowered 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 9.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 9.56 and a quick ratio of 9.48. The stock has a market cap of $37.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.09 and a beta of 2.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.80 and its 200 day moving average is $68.60.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.27). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 1,639.59% and a negative return on equity of 27.76%. The company had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.10) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1236.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total value of $773,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 382,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,572,882.50. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.52, for a total value of $2,940,800.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,220. The trade was a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 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.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 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.