AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading 13.2% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shot up 13.2% on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $43.00 to $85.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. AST SpaceMobile traded as high as $106.66 and last traded at $104.89. 20,723,182 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 29% from the average session volume of 16,058,550 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.68.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and set a $45.60 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $63.77.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, CAO Maya Bernal sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total value of $442,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 122,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,034,567.36. This trade represents a 4.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total value of $159,631,314.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 211,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,743,685.25. This trade represents a 91.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 2,015 shares of company stock worth $149,144 and have sold 2,344,621 shares worth $163,788,075. Corporate insiders own 30.90% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TELUS commercial agreement to deliver space-based cellular broadband across Canada expands ASTS’s addressable market and validates operator demand for its direct-to-device service. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat and outsized year-over-year growth (multiple reports cite thousands-of-percent increases) plus reported liquidity give the company more runway to scale satellite deployments — a core bullish thesis for growth investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial and defense traction: ASTS has new carrier partnerships (e.g., Orange trials in Europe) and a U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA) HALO contract to use its BlueBird constellation for tactical comms — adds recurring-commercial and government revenue potential. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector momentum/context: broader coverage noting ASTS as one of the biggest space-stock movers in February — useful market color but not company-specific new information. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS missed estimates: ASTS reported a wider-than-expected loss (reported ($0.26) vs. consensus ($0.18)), which raises near-term profitability concerns despite top-line strength. That EPS miss can weigh on sentiment and valuation multiples. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: UBS raised its target to $85 but kept a “neutral” stance; the new target sits below the current market price, implying downside risk if momentum fades or execution slows — a potential headwind from the analyst community. Read More.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $38.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -79.46 and a beta of 2.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $93.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.28. The company has a current ratio of 9.56, a quick ratio of 9.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $54.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.53 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 482.16% and a negative return on equity of 28.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2731.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

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.