AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $45.71, but opened at $47.40. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $46.13, with a volume of 2,863,121 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ASTS shares. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.40 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Bank of America started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Roth Capital started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.34.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.41. The company has a market capitalization of $14.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.05 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a current ratio of 10.62, a quick ratio of 10.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $0.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,033.22% and a negative return on equity of 23.56%. On average, analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total transaction of $147,050.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 20,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,950. This represents a 17.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.84, for a total value of $418,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 305,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,789,107.28. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 184,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,146,750. Corporate insiders own 34.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 1,992.5% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 843,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,182,000 after buying an additional 803,240 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth $168,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth $900,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 36.2% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 84,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,912,000 after buying an additional 22,358 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 325,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,405,000 after buying an additional 49,811 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and provides access to a space-based cellular broadband network for smartphones in the United States. Its SpaceMobile service provides cellular broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.