AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Down 5.2% – Time to Sell?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)’s stock price was down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $90.65 and last traded at $90.74. Approximately 9,002,952 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 15,106,204 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ASTS shares. Zacks Research upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and set a $45.60 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $63.77.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 5.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $33.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.76 and a beta of 2.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 16.27 and a current ratio of 16.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $96.27 and a 200 day moving average of $76.35.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $54.31 million for 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 23.02%. AST SpaceMobile’s revenue was up 2731.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Keith R. Larson acquired 625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.00 per share, for a total transaction of $50,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,015 shares in the company, valued at $161,200. The trade was a 44.96% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 30.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. Vodafone Ventures Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth $397,413,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at $198,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,919,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,668,000 after buying an additional 2,351,539 shares during the period. Clear Street Group Inc. bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter worth $90,129,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

About AST SpaceMobile

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.