Investors Purchase High Volume of AST SpaceMobile Call Options (NASDAQ:ASTS)

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 94,695 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 28% compared to the typical volume of 73,824 call options.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of ASTS stock opened at $26.25 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.51. The stock has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.38 and a beta of 2.05. AST SpaceMobile has a 12 month low of $2.29 and a 12 month high of $39.08. The company has a current ratio of 5.80, a quick ratio of 5.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $0.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 million. On average, research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ASTS shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $47.90 to $45.40 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Roth Capital started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.40.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total transaction of $614,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 52,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,617,258.44. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 34.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 235.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,479,000 after purchasing an additional 174,007 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,728,000 after purchasing an additional 135,008 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $755,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 117,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,486,000 after buying an additional 23,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 150.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 258,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,460,000 after buying an additional 155,310 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

About AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and provides access to a space-based cellular broadband network for smartphones in the United States. Its SpaceMobile service provides cellular broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.