AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 1.3% – Time to Sell?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares dropped 1.3% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $60.27 and last traded at $61.00. 7,468,981 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 16,571,643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. B. Riley Financial raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.58.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 1.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.88 and a 200-day moving average of $77.78. 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 stock has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.50 and a beta of 2.74.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $31.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter last year, the business earned ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.93, for a total value of $2,357,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 34,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,047,817.50. The trade was a 53.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.89, for a total transaction of $706,680.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 462,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,264,892.20. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,522,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,749,000 after acquiring an additional 402,505 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at $198,270,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 140.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,644,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,259,000 after purchasing an additional 960,045 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 14.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,316,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,128,000 after purchasing an additional 164,303 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 8,016.7% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,269,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,967 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AST SpaceMobile

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.