AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 7.2% – Should You Sell?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)’s share price traded down 7.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $79.51 and last traded at $80.20. 10,142,497 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 16,380,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ASTS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank cut AST SpaceMobile from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and set a $45.60 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $52.94.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $29.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -64.68 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a current ratio of 9.56, a quick ratio of 9.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total value of $159,631,314.75. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 211,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,743,685.25. This represents a 91.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total value of $773,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 382,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,572,882.50. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 2,015 shares of company stock worth $149,144 and sold 2,354,621 shares worth $164,348,075. Insiders own 30.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 48.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 532,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,158,000 after purchasing an additional 172,759 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in AST SpaceMobile by 342.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 132,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,172,000 after purchasing an additional 102,217 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter worth $21,754,000. Yarbrough Capital LLC boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Yarbrough Capital LLC now owns 99,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,877,000 after buying an additional 21,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 77,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,606,000 after buying an additional 9,448 shares during the last quarter. 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.