AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $24.26, but opened at $26.00. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $26.44, with a volume of 2,730,112 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $22.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $28.00 to $45.90 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 6.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.01.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $0.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.88 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.26, for a total value of $1,091,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 55,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,334,300. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AST SpaceMobile news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.26, for a total value of $1,091,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 55,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,334,300. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 80,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.83, for a total value of $2,066,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 393,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,157,182.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 127,700 shares of company stock worth $3,220,524. Corporate insiders own 41.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 49.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,663,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,325,000 after acquiring an additional 2,217,531 shares in the last quarter. American International Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 41.5% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 56,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 16,568 shares in the last quarter. Natixis boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 62.2% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 55,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 21,430 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 71.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 55,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 22,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Masters Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth $2,900,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.