AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Climb 8% – Still a Buy?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS – Get Free Report) rose 8% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $64.75 and last traded at $63.12. 17,526,926 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 16,483,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.44.

More AST SpaceMobile News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ASTS. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $93.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. B. Riley Financial lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $85.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.80 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut AST SpaceMobile to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.58.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 8.0%

The company has a current ratio of 13.05, a quick ratio of 12.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.51. The firm has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a PE ratio of -29.50 and a beta of 2.72.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS – Get Free Report) last posted its 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). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 536.66% and a negative return on equity of 22.88%. The firm had revenue of $31.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.41) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Shanti Gupta sold 12,000 shares of the business’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 value of $706,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 462,980 shares in the company, valued at $27,264,892.20. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Adriana Cisneros acquired 10,822 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $57.22 per share, with a total value of $619,234.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 797,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,605,656.06. This trade represents a 1.38% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 140.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,644,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,259,000 after acquiring an additional 960,045 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 9,876.8% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,049,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,220,000 after buying an additional 1,038,546 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 8,016.7% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,269,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000,000 after buying an additional 1,253,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tema ETFs LLC grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 109,486.8% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 1,003,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,899 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AST SpaceMobile

(Get Free Report)

AST SpaceMobile, Inc develops a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect standard mobile phones directly to satellites without requiring specialized satellite phones or equipment. The company’s objective is to extend mobile connectivity to areas that lack reliable terrestrial cellular coverage, including remote and underserved regions.

Its system is built around the planned SpaceMobile satellite constellation, including BlueBird satellites equipped with large communications arrays.

Further Reading

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