AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 7.8% – Time to Sell?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) was down 7.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $71.03 and last traded at $71.95. Approximately 19,333,529 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 57% from the average daily volume of 12,282,946 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ASTS shares. Barclays lowered AST SpaceMobile from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Scotiabank upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.60 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $62.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 9.56, a quick ratio of 9.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.02 and a beta of 2.76.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share (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 company earned ($1.10) earnings per share. AST SpaceMobile’s revenue for the quarter was up 1236.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total transaction of $159,631,314.75. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 211,379 shares in the company, valued at $14,743,685.25. The trade was a 91.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.52, for a total transaction of $2,940,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $349,220. This trade represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 2,140 shares of company stock worth $137,236 and have sold 2,354,621 shares worth $164,348,075. Corporate insiders own 30.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the second quarter worth $33,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AST SpaceMobile

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.