Reviewing AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) & Millicom International Cellular (NASDAQ:TIGO)

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) and Millicom International Cellular (NASDAQ:TIGO) are both large-cap communication services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

AST SpaceMobile has a beta of 2.72, suggesting that its stock price is 172% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Millicom International Cellular has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares AST SpaceMobile and Millicom International Cellular’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AST SpaceMobile	-536.66%	-22.88%	-10.67%
Millicom International Cellular	9.19%	18.39%	3.12%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares AST SpaceMobile and Millicom International Cellular”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AST SpaceMobile	$70.92 million	218.35	-$341.94 million	($2.14)	-18.59
Millicom International Cellular	$5.82 billion	2.28	$1.32 billion	$3.96	19.78

Millicom International Cellular has higher revenue and earnings than AST SpaceMobile. AST SpaceMobile is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Millicom International Cellular, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for AST SpaceMobile and Millicom International Cellular, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AST SpaceMobile	2	6	6	0	2.29
Millicom International Cellular	1	2	3	1	2.57

AST SpaceMobile currently has a consensus target price of $80.67, suggesting a potential upside of 102.74%. Millicom International Cellular has a consensus target price of $85.68, suggesting a potential upside of 9.37%. Given AST SpaceMobile’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe AST SpaceMobile is more favorable than Millicom International Cellular.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.0% of AST SpaceMobile shares are held by institutional investors. 20.9% of AST SpaceMobile shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Millicom International Cellular shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Millicom International Cellular beats AST SpaceMobile on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AST SpaceMobile

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.

About Millicom International Cellular

Millicom International Cellular S.A. provides cable and mobile services in Latin America. It offers mobile services, including mobile data and voice, and short message services; and mobile financial services, such as payments, money transfers, international remittances, savings, real-time loans, and micro-insurance. The company also operates TIGO Sports for local entertainment; Tigo Money that allows its customers to send and receive money without the need for a bank account; and TIGO ONEtv for pay TV. In addition, it provides fixed services, including broadband and fixed voice; and fixed-voice and data telecommunications services, managed services, cloud and security solutions, and value-added services; and tower infrastructure and services. The company serves small, medium, and large businesses, as well as residential consumers and governmental entities. It markets its products and services under the Tigo and Tigo Business brands. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Luxembourg.