AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.34.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.40 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 23rd.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.84, for a total value of $418,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 305,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,789,107.28. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total transaction of $147,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 20,750 shares in the company, valued at $717,950. This represents a 17.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 184,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,146,750. 34.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $1,350,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 42,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 18,596 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 221.8% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 75,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 51,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 314,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,625,000 after acquiring an additional 49,700 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

Shares of AST SpaceMobile stock opened at $57.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of -29.14 and a beta of 2.27. AST SpaceMobile has a 12-month low of $12.24 and a 12-month high of $58.08. The company has a quick ratio of 10.62, a current ratio of 10.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.21.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $3.85 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 23.56% and a negative net margin of 7,033.22%. As a group, equities analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

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.