AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) Receives $86.95 Average Target Price from Analysts

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $87.60.

Several research firms have recently commented on ASTS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley Financial raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th.

AST SpaceMobile News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile is preparing to launch three BlueBird satellites on August 5. A successful mission could expand coverage in priority markets, support the company’s delayed network rollout, and strengthen its position in direct-to-smartphone connectivity. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS) Stock: Slightly Surges as Three BlueBird Satellites Raise the Stakes
• Positive Sentiment: The company has reportedly secured its next launch for its large BlueBird satellites, again working with a major launch partner. Additional launch capacity would help AST SpaceMobile build out its planned global cellular network. AST SpaceMobile Locks In Next Launch For Its Mega Satellites
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised AST SpaceMobile to “Sector Perform,” indicating a more constructive view of the shares after their recent decline, although the rating is not an outright bullish recommendation. AST SpaceMobile Raised to Sector Perform at Scotiabank
• Neutral Sentiment: Several comparisons with Rocket Lab and Intuitive Machines highlight AST SpaceMobile’s differentiated strategy: providing broadband cellular service to ordinary, unmodified smartphones. The articles are opinion-based and do not represent new company-specific developments. AST SpaceMobile vs. Rocket Lab
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP is investigating potential claims on behalf of AST SpaceMobile investors. Such announcements can create legal and reputational overhang, though the investigation does not establish wrongdoing. Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims
• Negative Sentiment: Broader selling in space stocks and AST SpaceMobile’s steep recent decline continue to signal high volatility and investor caution. The company also faces competitive pressure from Starlink while it scales its network. SpaceX Is Now Down 36% in a Month

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

NASDAQ:ASTS opened at $58.98 on Wednesday. AST SpaceMobile has a 52-week low of $36.08 and a 52-week high of $133.86. The company has a market cap of $22.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.13 and a beta of 2.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a current ratio of 18.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.34.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $14.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.20) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile will post -1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AST SpaceMobile news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total value of $3,854,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. The trade was a 53.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 105,809 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,492 over the last 90 days. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,292 shares during the period. Vodafone Ventures Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $397,413,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,569,000 after buying an additional 1,425,199 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,522,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,749,000 after buying an additional 402,505 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,951,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,011,000 after buying an additional 350,690 shares during the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is owned by 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.