AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.9429.

ASTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research cut AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and set a $45.60 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.52, for a total transaction of $2,940,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,220. This trade represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Maya Bernal sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total transaction of $442,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 122,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,034,567.36. This represents a 4.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders acquired 2,015 shares of company stock valued at $149,144 and sold 2,344,621 shares valued at $163,788,075. 30.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 3,642 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after buying an additional 3,515 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 467,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,634,000 after buying an additional 64,989 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 325,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,405,000 after acquiring an additional 49,811 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth approximately $168,000. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

Shares of ASTS stock opened at $79.19 on Friday. AST SpaceMobile has a one year low of $18.22 and a one year high of $129.89. The stock has a market cap of $29.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -63.86 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $93.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 9.56 and a quick ratio of 9.48.

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.