AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $55.80, but opened at $58.44. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $61.7010, with a volume of 4,590,186 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Adriana Cisneros acquired 10,822 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $57.22 per share, for a total transaction of $619,234.84. Following the purchase, the director owned 797,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,605,656.06. This represents a 1.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. B. Riley Financial upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $93.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.80 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.58.

Trending Headlines about AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: Director Adriana Cisneros bought 10,822 ASTS shares for approximately $619,235 at an average price of $57.22, increasing her holdings by 1.38% to 797,023 shares. The open-market purchase may signal confidence in the company’s long-term prospects. Insider purchase report
• Positive Sentiment: Berenberg initiated coverage of AST SpaceMobile with a Buy rating as part of new coverage of the U.S. and European space sector. The endorsement adds potentially supportive analyst attention following the stock’s recent weakness. Berenberg space-sector coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Japan’s Radio Regulatory Council endorsed a proposed 700 MHz framework for the Rakuten-AST SpaceMobile direct-to-smartphone network. Final regulations could expand ASTS’s international commercial opportunity and strengthen its position against SpaceX. Japan regulatory endorsement
• Neutral Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile is targeting a fourth-quarter commercial launch with US Mobile. Satellite networks are generally expected to complement terrestrial towers by filling rural coverage gaps, rather than replacing high-capacity urban networks. Satellite and tower infrastructure analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Possible manufacturing delays could slow BlueBird satellite production and reduce the near-term launch cadence. The concern led one bullish analysis to adopt a more cautious “Buy” stance, despite maintaining substantial long-term revenue and valuation potential. Manufacturing-delay analysis
• Negative Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile’s latest quarterly results missed expectations: the company reported a $0.77 per-share loss versus a projected $0.32 loss, while revenue of $31.52 million fell short of the $34.53 million consensus. Cash burn, potential dilution and reliance on third-party launch providers remain investor concerns. ASTS earnings and competition analysis

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 13.05, a quick ratio of 12.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.29 billion, a PE ratio of -29.01 and a beta of 2.74. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.96.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $31.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.53 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 22.88% and a negative net margin of 536.66%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.41) EPS. Research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 11,947.9% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,526,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,801,449,000 after purchasing an additional 31,264,875 shares during the last quarter. Vodafone Ventures Ltd purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at about $397,413,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at about $198,270,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,569,000 after buying an additional 1,425,199 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 8,016.7% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,269,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000,000 after buying an additional 1,253,967 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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.