AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 0.8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shot up 0.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $21.88 and last traded at $21.63. 1,903,760 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 10,528,790 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $13.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $28.00 to $45.90 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $22.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, B. Riley raised their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 2.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 6.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of -17.59 and a beta of 1.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $25.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.59.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $0.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.83, for a total value of $2,066,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 393,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,157,182.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other AST SpaceMobile news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.26, for a total value of $1,091,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 55,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,334,300. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.83, for a total transaction of $2,066,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 393,232 shares in the company, valued at $10,157,182.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 127,700 shares of company stock valued at $3,220,524. Insiders own 41.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 209.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,450,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,606,000 after acquiring an additional 5,046,667 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 49.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,663,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,325,000 after buying an additional 2,217,531 shares during the period. Masters Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter worth about $2,900,000. Privium Fund Management B.V. bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the third quarter valued at about $21,476,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,270,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.