AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 3% - Here's Why

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) shot up 3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $24.18 and last traded at $23.98. 1,687,982 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 10,594,735 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ASTS. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $45.90 to $44.70 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $22.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 5.80, a quick ratio of 5.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $24.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.23 and a beta of 1.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.83, for a total transaction of $2,066,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 393,232 shares in the company, valued at $10,157,182.56. This represents a 16.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Adriana Cisneros acquired 4,934 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.32 per share, with a total value of $129,862.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 774,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,391,999.04. This trade represents a 0.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,700 shares of company stock worth $3,220,524. 41.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ASTS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,217,531 shares in the last quarter. American International Group Inc. boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 41.5% during 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 71.1% during 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 209.9% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,450,467 shares of the company's stock worth $21,606,000 after acquiring an additional 5,046,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth $334,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.