AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Upgraded at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.95.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASTS opened at $57.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.47 and a beta of 2.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.12. AST SpaceMobile has a twelve month low of $36.08 and a twelve month high of $133.86. The company has a quick ratio of 18.37, a current ratio of 18.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The business had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile will post -1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AST SpaceMobile news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. The trade was a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $4,297,342.29. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 503,619 shares in the company, valued at $47,244,498.39. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 105,809 shares of company stock worth $9,748,492 in the last three months. Insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 16,350.0% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reportedly upgraded AST SpaceMobile to Strong Buy, suggesting at least one bullish analyst sees value after the selloff.
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary says the $1 billion notes offering may be less dilutive than feared, with proponents arguing the market has misunderstood the financing impact.
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term optimism remains tied to ASTS’s strategy to build a space-based cellular network for standard smartphones, with nearly 60 global carriers committed and access to a large subscriber base.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed the move as part of a broader space-stock selloff, with ASTS trading alongside weakness in other names in the sector.
• Negative Sentiment: ASTS priced $1 billion of 1.625% convertible notes due 2034, which sparked concerns about financing risk and potential shareholder dilution.
• Negative Sentiment: The company also disclosed a delay to its commercial satellite service timeline, adding execution concerns to the investment case.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage pointed to weakening sentiment, valuation concerns, and a consensus Reduce rating, all of which are weighing on the stock.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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.