AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 1.1% – What’s Next?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)’s stock price fell 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $81.85 and last traded at $85.13. Approximately 15,744,509 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 18,792,371 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on ASTS shares. New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $85.09.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $33.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.83 and a beta of 2.69. The company’s 50 day moving average is $87.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 18.47 and a quick ratio of 18.37.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $14.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $4,297,342.29. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 503,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,244,498.39. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 27,980,155 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 3,145,809 shares of company stock worth $280,645,292 over the last three months. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. Focus Partners Wealth grew 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 worth $92,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,967 shares during the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,649,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 1,062.9% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 77,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,665,000 after purchasing an additional 71,287 shares during the last quarter. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,290,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 232,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,882,000 after buying an additional 48,318 shares in 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.