AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Competitors

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) and Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment, valuation, profitability, community ranking, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Is ASTS or RKLB more profitable?

AST SpaceMobile has a net margin of 0.00% compared to Rocket Lab USA's net margin of -51.76%. AST SpaceMobile's return on equity of -22.96% beat Rocket Lab USA's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AST SpaceMobile	N/A	-22.96%	-11.80%
Rocket Lab USA	-51.76%	-39.47%	-16.87%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ASTS or RKLB?

61.0% of AST SpaceMobile shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.8% of Rocket Lab USA shares are owned by institutional investors. 41.8% of AST SpaceMobile shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.7% of Rocket Lab USA shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, ASTS or RKLB?

AST SpaceMobile has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Rocket Lab USA. Rocket Lab USA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AST SpaceMobile, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AST SpaceMobile	$13.82M	472.31	-$87.56M	-$2.12	-11.43
Rocket Lab USA	$244.59M	38.58	-$182.57M	-$0.37	-51.35

Do analysts rate ASTS or RKLB?

AST SpaceMobile currently has a consensus price target of $43.68, indicating a potential upside of 80.25%. Rocket Lab USA has a consensus price target of $14.72, indicating a potential downside of 22.51%. Given AST SpaceMobile's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe AST SpaceMobile is more favorable than Rocket Lab USA.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AST SpaceMobile	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Rocket Lab USA	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.55

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ASTS or RKLB?

Rocket Lab USA received 21 more outperform votes than AST SpaceMobile when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 61.29% of users gave AST SpaceMobile an outperform vote while only 54.05% of users gave Rocket Lab USA an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
AST SpaceMobile	Outperform Votes 19 61.29%	Underperform Votes 12 38.71%
Rocket Lab USA	Outperform Votes 40 54.05%	Underperform Votes 34 45.95%

Does the media prefer ASTS or RKLB?

In the previous week, Rocket Lab USA had 23 more articles in the media than AST SpaceMobile. MarketBeat recorded 67 mentions for Rocket Lab USA and 44 mentions for AST SpaceMobile. Rocket Lab USA's average media sentiment score of 0.82 beat AST SpaceMobile's score of 0.59 indicating that Rocket Lab USA is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AST SpaceMobile	13 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	6 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Rocket Lab USA	29 Very Positive mention(s)	10 Positive mention(s)	18 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, ASTS or RKLB?

AST SpaceMobile has a beta of 1.64, indicating that its stock price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rocket Lab USA has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

AST SpaceMobile beats Rocket Lab USA on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.