AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Up 10.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)’s stock price shot up 10.2% on Thursday after Scotiabank upgraded the stock from a sector underperform rating to a sector perform rating. Scotiabank now has a $50.80 price target on the stock. AST SpaceMobile traded as high as $58.51 and last traded at $58.44. Approximately 12,502,340 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 18,346,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.03.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.60.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $4,297,342.29. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,244,498.39. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. This trade represents a 53.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 105,809 shares of company stock worth $9,748,492. 20.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming BlueBird launch supports the growth narrative. AST SpaceMobile is scheduled to launch three BlueBird satellites on August 5, an important milestone for expanding its space-based cellular broadband network and demonstrating execution. AST SpaceMobile Sets August 5 Launch For Three BlueBird Satellites
• Positive Sentiment: Broader space-sector optimism lifted sentiment. Positive comments from Elon Musk regarding lunar and Mars initiatives helped revive interest in space stocks. ASTS may benefit from sector-wide momentum, though the effect is indirect and not specific to its financial performance. SPCX, ASTS, RKLB Find A Floor After Brutal July
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank’s upgrade provided support. The bank raised ASTS from “sector underperform” to “sector perform,” citing the company’s partnerships and upcoming launches as potential growth drivers. ASTS Stock’s Valuation Is Now In A Grey Area
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains cautious. Scotiabank’s $50.80 price target is below the recent trading level, while the broader brokerage consensus is “Hold,” suggesting investors see upside potential but want more evidence of successful launches and commercial progress. AST SpaceMobile Given Average Recommendation of Hold
• Negative Sentiment: A new investor investigation creates legal overhang. Pomerantz LLP said it is investigating potential claims on behalf of ASTS investors. The announcement did not provide detailed allegations, but investigations of this type can increase uncertainty and pressure sentiment. Pomerantz Investor Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s satellite ambitions raise competitive concerns. Amazon’s planned satellite constellation could intensify competition for customers, spectrum and capital, increasing potential margin-compression risks for AST SpaceMobile. Amazon’s Satellite Push Raises the Stakes

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vodafone Ventures Ltd bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth approximately $397,413,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at $198,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,292 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 8,016.7% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,269,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 10.2%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.82. 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 stock has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a PE ratio of -32.83 and a beta of 2.69.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.43). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The company had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.20) earnings per share. AST SpaceMobile’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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.