AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading 4.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shot up 4.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $87.74 and last traded at $85.76. 9,236,836 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 15,639,140 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ASTS. Zacks Research cut AST SpaceMobile from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and set a $45.60 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley Financial lowered their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $52.94.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 9.48 and a current ratio of 9.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $93.69 and a 200 day moving average of $72.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -63.86 and a beta of 2.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total value of $773,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 382,375 shares in the company, valued at $29,572,882.50. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Maya Bernal sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total transaction of $442,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 122,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,034,567.36. This trade represents a 4.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 2,015 shares of company stock worth $149,144 and have sold 2,344,621 shares worth $163,788,075. 30.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,292 shares in the last quarter. Vodafone Ventures Ltd acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at about $397,413,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425,199 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,522,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,749,000 after acquiring an additional 402,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,951,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,011,000 after acquiring an additional 350,690 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s 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.