AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Down 5.8% – Here’s Why

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)’s stock price was down 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $91.63 and last traded at $92.72. Approximately 11,584,873 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 18,297,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ASTS shares. Scotiabank lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and set a $45.60 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays downgraded AST SpaceMobile from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, B. Riley lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 5.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 9.48, a current ratio of 9.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.21. The stock has a market cap of $34.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -74.77 and a beta of 2.70.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.27). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 1,639.59% and a negative return on equity of 27.76%. The company had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.04 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.10) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1236.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 10,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $560,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 387,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,699,160. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.52, for a total value of $2,940,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,220. This trade represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 2,765 shares of company stock valued at $187,236 and have sold 2,354,621 shares valued at $164,348,075. Insiders own 30.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 225.0% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.