AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 1.6% on Insider Selling

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)’s stock price fell 1.6% during trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $90.81 and last traded at $92.06. 13,589,596 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 17,706,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.60.

Specifically, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief technology officer owned 34,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. This trade represents a 53.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ASTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Key Stories Impacting AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile’s confirmed June 17 launch of BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 is a key catalyst, as investors see progress toward scaling its direct-to-smartphone satellite broadband network and meeting 2026 deployment goals. Article: Can AST SpaceMobile’s Upcoming Satellite Launch Advance Connectivity?
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors are still bullish on the long-term opportunity, with commentary suggesting ASTS could benefit if SpaceX/Starlink-related hype lifts interest across space stocks, and that ASTS may have a differentiated position in the satellite connectivity market. Article: The SpaceX IPO Is Closer Than You Think. These Are the Stocks That Win When It Happens.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $89.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.06 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a current ratio of 18.47.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The firm had revenue of $14.74 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%. AST SpaceMobile’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.20) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth $1,649,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 1,062.9% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 77,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,665,000 after acquiring an additional 71,287 shares in the last quarter. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth $2,290,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 31,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 6,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 232,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,882,000 after acquiring an additional 48,318 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.