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

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $66.31, but opened at $59.20. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $57.4270, with a volume of 14,526,526 shares.

More AST SpaceMobile News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reportedly upgraded AST SpaceMobile to Strong Buy, suggesting at least one bullish analyst sees value after the selloff.
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary says the $1 billion notes offering may be less dilutive than feared, with proponents arguing the market has misunderstood the financing impact.
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term optimism remains tied to ASTS’s strategy to build a space-based cellular network for standard smartphones, with nearly 60 global carriers committed and access to a large subscriber base.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed the move as part of a broader space-stock selloff, with ASTS trading alongside weakness in other names in the sector.
• Negative Sentiment: ASTS priced $1 billion of 1.625% convertible notes due 2034, which sparked concerns about financing risk and potential shareholder dilution.
• Negative Sentiment: The company also disclosed a delay to its commercial satellite service timeline, adding execution concerns to the investment case.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage pointed to weakening sentiment, valuation concerns, and a consensus Reduce rating, all of which are weighing on the stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler began coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.95.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 5.1%

The firm has a market cap of $22.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.47 and a beta of 2.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $86.76 and its 200-day moving average is $89.12. The company has a current ratio of 18.47, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The business had revenue of $14.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.20) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total value of $3,854,800.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 34,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,348,857.50. This represents a 53.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total transaction of $4,297,342.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,244,498.39. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 105,809 shares of company stock worth $9,748,492 in the last quarter. Insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 16,350.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

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.