AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 2.2% – Here’s Why

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)’s share price rose 2.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $24.95 and last traded at $25.22. Approximately 2,133,858 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 11,927,525 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.98.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 5.80 and a quick ratio of 5.80. The firm has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.13 and a beta of 1.62.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total transaction of $614,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 52,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,617,258.44. The trade was a 27.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 41.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,987,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,233,000 after buying an additional 4,955,941 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth about $59,523,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 228.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,131,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,594,000 after buying an additional 787,566 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 14.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,091,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,845,000 after buying an additional 399,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.