AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $79.45.

A number of equities analysts have commented on ASTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group reduced 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. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

Shares of ASTS stock opened at $88.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 18.47 and a quick ratio of 18.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.10. AST SpaceMobile has a 12 month low of $22.47 and a 12 month high of $129.89. The company has a market capitalization of $33.65 billion, a PE ratio of -49.48 and a beta of 2.60.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The firm had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.01 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.20) earnings per share. AST SpaceMobile’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. The trade was a 25.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total transaction of $3,555,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $422,180. This trade represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,095,000 shares of company stock valued at $275,597,100. Company insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 16,350.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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.