AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading 3% Higher – Still a Buy?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)’s share price rose 3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $24.18 and last traded at $23.98. Approximately 1,687,982 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 10,594,735 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $22.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $45.90 to $44.70 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.31 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 5.80, a quick ratio of 5.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, Director Adriana Cisneros purchased 4,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.32 per share, for a total transaction of $129,862.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 774,772 shares in the company, valued at $20,391,999.04. This trade represents a 0.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Scott Wisniewski sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.12, for a total value of $62,424.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 712,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,476,699.20. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 127,700 shares of company stock valued at $3,220,524 over the last three months. Company insiders own 41.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 209.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,450,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,046,667 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 49.9% during the first 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 9.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,267,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,450,000 after buying an additional 281,749 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 14.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,091,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,845,000 after buying an additional 399,713 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 228.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,131,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,594,000 after buying an additional 787,566 shares during the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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.