AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading 8.5% Higher After Insider Buying Activity

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares were up 8.5% during trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $80.29 and last traded at $79.05. Approximately 14,265,199 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 18% from the average daily volume of 12,049,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.84.

Specifically, Director Keith R. Larson acquired 675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $72.71 per share, for a total transaction of $49,079.25. Following the acquisition, the director owned 675 shares in the company, valued at $49,079.25. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Barclays lowered AST SpaceMobile from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 17th. Scotiabank raised AST SpaceMobile from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.60 target price for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Zacks Research lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $29.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -63.75 and a beta of 2.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $70.04 and its 200 day moving average is $53.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 9.56 and a quick ratio of 9.48.

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

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. Blair William & Co. IL purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth $237,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at $50,000. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter worth about $388,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter worth about $9,218,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 174.6% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 206,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,691,000 after buying an additional 131,171 shares during the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and provides access to a space-based cellular broadband network for smartphones in the United States. Its SpaceMobile service provides cellular broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.