AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 12.3% – Should You Buy?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares were up 12.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $83.28 and last traded at $82.87. Approximately 14,997,896 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 14,915,082 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASTS. B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $43.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $63.77.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $33.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.33 and a beta of 2.80. The company has a quick ratio of 16.27, a current ratio of 16.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $93.16 and its 200-day moving average is $79.55.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.08). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 482.16% and a negative return on equity of 23.02%. The company had revenue of $54.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.53 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2731.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AST SpaceMobile news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total value of $3,555,200.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $422,180. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 30.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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.