AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 482.16% and a negative return on equity of 23.02%.

Here are the key takeaways from AST SpaceMobile’s conference call:

• AST says it has scaled manufacturing and vertical integration (95% BOM control) with over half a million sq ft of facilities, producing ASICs and phased arrays and targeting a production cadence of up to six fully assembled satellites per month.
• The company demonstrated a peak downlink of 98.9 Mbps to unmodified smartphones and expects to nearly double peak speeds with Block 2/ASIC-enabled satellites plus on?orbit AI spectrum management.
• AST is executing a multi-provider launch plan (Blue Origin, SpaceX and others), is returning to the pad in mid?June with a Falcon 9 for BlueBirds 8–10, and is targeting approximately 45 satellites in orbit by year?end 2026.
• Commercial and regulatory momentum includes FCC authorization for U.S. operations on premium low?band with Verizon/AT&T/FirstNet, a partner ecosystem of ~60 MNOs covering >3 billion subscribers, and >$1.2 billion of contracted commercial commitments plus growing U.S. government awards.
• Cash runway and growth come with heavy near?term spend—Q2 capex is guided to $575M–$650M, adjusted operating expenses to $85M–$95M, and the company has raised capital via convertible notes (effective strike $116.30), introducing dilution and elevated cash burn risk.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 10.0%

Shares of ASTS traded up $7.50 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $82.55. 38,270,763 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,832,219. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $85.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.88. The company has a market capitalization of $31.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -62.54 and a beta of 2.60. The company has a quick ratio of 16.27, a current ratio of 16.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. AST SpaceMobile has a 12 month low of $22.47 and a 12 month high of $129.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $43.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. New Street Research set a $115.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $82.51.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total transaction of $3,555,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,180. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total transaction of $154,499,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 29,330,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,681,362,770.10. The trade was a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,080,000 shares of company stock valued at $274,452,000. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter valued at $33,000. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

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.