AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Up 4.5% After Insider Buying Activity

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares shot up 4.5% on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $78.35 and last traded at $74.68. 17,088,171 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 39% from the average session volume of 12,306,143 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.47.

Specifically, Director Keith R. Larson acquired 625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $80.00 per share, for a total transaction of $50,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,015 shares in the company, valued at $161,200. This trade represents a 44.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Zacks Research downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.60 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. UBS Group cut AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $62.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 4.5%

The company has a market cap of $27.41 billion, a PE ratio of -60.23 and a beta of 2.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 9.48 and a current ratio of 9.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.36.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in AST SpaceMobile by 225.0% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 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.