AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 2.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) dropped 2.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $66.45 and last traded at $68.38. Approximately 12,084,673 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 18,213,127 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.31.

More AST SpaceMobile News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile successfully launched its BlueBird 11, 12 and 13 satellites into orbit. The company said the milestone advances its planned space-based cellular broadband network, with beta services expected later this year. AST SpaceMobile Announces Successful Orbital Launch of BlueBirds 11, 12, and 13
• Positive Sentiment: The launch reinforces ASTS’s execution progress and could expand future network capacity, supporting the company’s long-term revenue ambitions. Retail sentiment also improved after SpaceX’s earnings, while short interest declined to approximately 19.9% of the public float from 21.7% the prior week. ASTS Short Interest Drops Below 20% Ahead of BlueBird Launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader space-stock trading remained tied to SpaceX developments. SpaceX’s plans involving satellite communications and AI generated investor interest across the sector, but also highlighted the competitive environment ASTS faces. These Stocks Are Making Moves Today, Thanks to SpaceX
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning whether ASTS’s valuation already reflects substantial future growth after the stock’s roughly 14-fold three-year gain. Execution, competition, and the need to convert satellite deployment into commercial revenue remain key risks. Does AST SpaceMobile Trade At A Premium After Its Satellite Launch?
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of ASTS investors, adding a headline risk even though the notice did not provide specific allegations or establish wrongdoing. Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims on Behalf of AST SpaceMobile Investors

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. New Street Research set a $106.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.60.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 2.7%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.33 and a 200-day moving average of $86.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.42 and a beta of 2.75. The company has a current ratio of 18.47, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

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 company had revenue of $14.73 million during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.20) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile 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 transaction, the director directly owned 43,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,300,865.26. This trade represents a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total transaction of $3,854,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 105,809 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,492 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASTS. Vodafone Ventures Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at $397,413,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth about $198,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,292 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 8,016.7% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,269,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,967 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

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.