AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 8% – Here’s Why
by Amy Steele · The Cerbat GemShares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS – Get Free Report) were down 8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $96.93 and last traded at $103.50. Approximately 25,629,567 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 31% from the average daily volume of 19,493,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.44.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ASTS. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays downgraded AST SpaceMobile from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 17th. B. Riley lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Scotiabank downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and set a $45.60 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $45.66.
View Our Latest Research Report on ASTS
AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance
The company has a market cap of $37.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -83.47 and a beta of 2.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $75.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 9.48 and a current ratio of 9.56.
AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.27). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 27.76% and a negative net margin of 1,639.59%.The company had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.04 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.10) earnings per share. AST SpaceMobile’s revenue for the quarter was up 1236.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.52, for a total transaction of $2,940,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $349,220. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $773,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 382,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,572,882.50. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 2,765 shares of company stock valued at $187,236 and sold 2,354,621 shares valued at $164,348,075. Corporate insiders own 30.90% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other 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.