AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Bank of America initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $38.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.41.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASTS opened at $45.08 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 8.23, a quick ratio of 8.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. AST SpaceMobile has a 12 month low of $17.50 and a 12 month high of $60.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.99 and a 200-day moving average of $34.01. The company has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.85 and a beta of 2.33.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $1.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,213.90% and a negative return on equity of 26.81%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were 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 owned 20,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,950. This trade represents a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total transaction of $541,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 315,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,389,265.36. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,250 shares of company stock worth $4,671,650. Corporate insiders own 34.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rakuten Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter worth about $705,398,000. Alphabet Inc. purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,375,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,523,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,266,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,796,000 after purchasing an additional 33,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 888,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,208,000 after purchasing an additional 34,591 shares during 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.