AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 9.6% – Here’s What Happened

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) traded up 9.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $30.55 and last traded at $28.79. 10,305,268 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 10,545,464 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ASTS. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $13.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $28.00 to $45.90 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $22.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 2.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.50 and a beta of 1.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.73 and its 200 day moving average is $15.96. The company has a quick ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 6.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $0.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.00 million. Equities analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, Director Adriana Cisneros purchased 4,934 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.32 per share, with a total value of $129,862.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 774,772 shares in the company, valued at $20,391,999.04. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other AST SpaceMobile news, Director Adriana Cisneros purchased 4,934 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.32 per share, for a total transaction of $129,862.88. Following the purchase, the director now owns 774,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,391,999.04. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.26, for a total transaction of $1,091,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 55,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,334,300. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 127,700 shares of company stock valued at $3,220,524. 41.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at $45,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter valued at about $580,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 49.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,663,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American International Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 41.5% in the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 56,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 16,568 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.