AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.27 EPS

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) issued its earnings results on Monday. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.27), Zacks reports. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,213.90% and a negative return on equity of 26.81%.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

Shares of ASTS stock traded down $0.49 on Monday, hitting $68.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,948,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,146,019. AST SpaceMobile has a fifty-two week low of $17.50 and a fifty-two week high of $102.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 8.23 and a current ratio of 8.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $62.88 and its 200-day moving average is $48.24. The company has a market capitalization of $24.63 billion, a PE ratio of -36.35 and a beta of 2.45.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total transaction of $1,049,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 397,485 shares in the company, valued at $20,860,012.80. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total transaction of $1,623,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $192,755. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 30.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the second quarter worth $38,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 197.6% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the third quarter worth about $226,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth about $231,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and set a $42.90 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. William Blair began coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $62.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $45.27.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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.