AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 9.3% – Here’s What Happened

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares dropped 9.3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $72.59 and last traded at $73.19. 28,183,354 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 52% from the average session volume of 18,545,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.66.

Key AST SpaceMobile News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile set an August launch window for BlueBird satellites 11, 12 and 13, supporting the buildout of its space-based mobile broadband network. AST SpaceMobile Announces BlueBirds 11, 12, and 13 Orbital Launch in the First Half of August
• Positive Sentiment: The company is set to form a direct-to-mobile communications joint venture with Rakuten in Japan, with equal ownership and Rakuten leading management, expanding ASTS’s commercial reach in a major market. Market Chatter: AST SpaceMobile, Rakuten to Form Direct-to-Mobile Communications JV in Japan
• Positive Sentiment: Rakuten’s CEO described AST’s satellite push as “critical” for Japan’s security, which could boost confidence in the strategic importance of AST SpaceMobile’s network. ASTS Stock Jumps Overnight: Rakuten CEO Calls AST Satellite Push ‘Critical’ For Japan Security Amid SpaceX Rivalry

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, March 27th. New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, May 29th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $88.56 and a 200-day moving average of $89.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.40 billion, a PE ratio of -38.21 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a current ratio of 18.47.

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

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, 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 value of $3,854,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 34,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. This represents a 53.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.22, for a total transaction of $116,397,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,980,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,412,448,964.10. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,145,809 shares of company stock valued at $280,645,292. 20.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,292 shares during the last quarter. Vodafone Ventures Ltd purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at about $397,413,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425,199 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,522,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,749,000 after purchasing an additional 402,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,951,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,011,000 after purchasing an additional 350,690 shares during the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.