AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 4.5% on Insider Buying Activity
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemAST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS – Get Free Report)’s share price traded up 4.5% during trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $78.35 and last traded at $74.68. 17,088,171 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 39% from the average session volume of 12,306,143 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.47.
Specifically, Director Keith R. Larson acquired 625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.00 per share, with a total value of $50,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,200. This trade represents a 44.96% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently commented on ASTS. Scotiabank upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.60 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday. Barclays cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.66.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AST SpaceMobile
AST SpaceMobile Price Performance
The business’s 50 day moving average price is $68.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.36. The company has a market cap of $27.41 billion, a PE ratio of -60.23 and a beta of 2.77. The company has a quick ratio of 9.48, a current ratio of 9.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.
AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.04 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 1,639.59% and a negative return on equity of 27.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1236.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.10) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.
Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 225.0% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.