AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $71.45, but opened at $76.13. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $77.6470, with a volume of 5,591,594 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, May 29th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $85.09.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 13.8%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $87.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.23. The company has a quick ratio of 18.37, a current ratio of 18.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.77 and a beta of 2.70.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. Analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.22, for a total transaction of $116,397,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,980,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,412,448,964.10. This trade represents a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,145,809 shares of company stock valued at $280,645,292. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 105.3% during the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $825,000 after purchasing an additional 5,108 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth $621,000. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth $249,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 1.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 93,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,776,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at $445,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.