AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) CTO Sells 40,000 Shares of Stock

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.93, for a total transaction of $2,357,200.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 34,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,047,817.50. The trade was a 53.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 5.8%

AST SpaceMobile stock traded up $3.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $62.71. The company had a trading volume of 9,189,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,814,629. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 12.90 and a current ratio of 13.05. The firm has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.30 and a beta of 2.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.24. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.15 and a 1 year high of $133.86.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $31.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.53 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 536.66% and a negative return on equity of 22.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.41) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Calton & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 13,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $986,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 6.6% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 11.7% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 15.5% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile’s patent strategy is receiving attention as it seeks to protect its large-array, direct-to-unmodified-smartphone approach while competing with SpaceX’s Starlink in satellite-to-cellular services. This reinforces the company’s potential competitive differentiation. AST SpaceMobile patent coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Retail investors continue to emphasize the company’s long-term opportunity despite uncertainty about the timing of the BlueBird 14–16 satellites. That support may be helping cushion sentiment while the market awaits shipment, arrival, and launch updates. ASTS retail sentiment and BlueBird coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have a consensus “Hold” recommendation, indicating that the company’s growth potential is balanced by substantial execution, profitability, and valuation risks. AST SpaceMobile analyst recommendation
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms announced or promoted securities-fraud class actions against AST SpaceMobile and certain officers. The lawsuits generally allege that the company misrepresented its competitive position and user adoption in the United States and Japan; some filings also allege that executives overstated capital sufficiency while selling more than $18 million of stock. These are allegations, not established findings, but they create legal costs, reputational risk, and potential investor uncertainty. ASTS class action announcement ASTS shareholder alert
• Negative Sentiment: The lack of a confirmed shipment or launch schedule for BlueBird 14–16 is fueling concerns about execution and the timing of network expansion. AST SpaceMobile also remains unprofitable, increasing investor sensitivity to delays and financing-related risks. BlueBird satellite timing coverage

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group began coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating 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 note on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $93.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.58.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc develops a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect standard, unmodified mobile phones directly to satellites. Its planned service is intended to extend mobile connectivity beyond the coverage of traditional terrestrial wireless networks, including in rural, remote and underserved areas.

The company’s primary technology platform consists of large, low-Earth-orbit satellites known as BlueBirds. AST SpaceMobile is developing these satellites to provide voice, messaging and broadband data services through partnerships with mobile network operators, using existing cellular devices and spectrum where permitted.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Midland, Texas, AST SpaceMobile was established by Abel Avellan, who serves as its chairman and chief executive officer.