AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading 8.5% Higher on Insider Buying Activity

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares were up 8.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $80.29 and last traded at $79.05. Approximately 14,265,199 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 18% from the average daily volume of 12,049,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.84.

Specifically, Director Keith R. Larson acquired 675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $72.71 per share, for a total transaction of $49,079.25. Following the acquisition, the director owned 675 shares in the company, valued at $49,079.25. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ASTS. Zacks Research downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.60 price objective for the company 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. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $62.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given 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 an average price target of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 8.5%

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $70.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.01 billion, a PE ratio of -63.75 and a beta of 2.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 9.56 and a quick ratio of 9.48.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly 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). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 1,639.59% and a negative return on equity of 27.76%. The business had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.10) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1236.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth $28,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in AST SpaceMobile by 225.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.