AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Falls 3.9% – Here’s What Happened

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares traded down 3.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $58.88 and last traded at $60.65. Approximately 10,735,660 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 16,454,652 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.12.

AST SpaceMobile News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile and TELUS completed their first integration test linking TELUS’ terrestrial wireless network with AST’s satellite network for direct-to-smartphone service in Canada. The milestone supports the company’s international commercialization strategy and led some analysis to suggest ASTS could be materially undervalued if execution continues. AST SpaceMobile could be undervalued based on TELUS integration progress
• Positive Sentiment: Clear Street maintained a Buy rating, viewing the Federal Communications Commission’s October 29 agenda as generally favorable to AST SpaceMobile’s carrier partnerships, although it acknowledged a limited auction-related risk. Analysts also continue to point to potential launch and partnership catalysts. Clear Street comments on FCC agenda

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ASTS shares. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.80 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.58.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.95 and a beta of 2.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.85. The company has a current ratio of 13.05, a quick ratio of 12.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.45). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 22.88% and a negative net margin of 536.66%.The company had revenue of $31.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.41) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 12,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.89, for a total transaction of $706,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 462,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,264,892.20. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.93, for a total value of $2,357,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares in the company, valued at $2,047,817.50. This represents a 53.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in AST SpaceMobile by 140.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,644,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,259,000 after acquiring an additional 960,045 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,316,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,128,000 after purchasing an additional 164,303 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9,876.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,049,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,546 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Tema ETFs LLC lifted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 109,486.8% during the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 1,003,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,899 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

About AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc develops a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect standard mobile phones directly to satellites without requiring specialized satellite phones or equipment. The company’s objective is to extend mobile connectivity to areas that lack reliable terrestrial cellular coverage, including remote and underserved regions.

Its system is built around the planned SpaceMobile satellite constellation, including BlueBird satellites equipped with large communications arrays.