AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Up 4.5% on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) traded up 4.5% during trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $78.35 and last traded at $74.68. 17,088,171 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 39% from the average session volume of 12,306,143 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.47.

Specifically, Director Keith R. Larson acquired 625 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.00 per share, with a total value of $50,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,015 shares in the company, valued at $161,200. This trade represents a 44.96% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 4.5%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $68.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.62. The company has a quick ratio of 9.48, a current ratio of 9.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.41 billion, a PE ratio of -60.23 and a beta of 2.76.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 225.0% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth approximately $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.