Latest news with #ASTS
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Is Considered a Good Investment by Brokers: Is That True?
When deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock, investors often rely on analyst recommendations. Media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts often influence a stock's price, but are they really important? Let's take a look at what these Wall Street heavyweights have to say about AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS) before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage. AST SpaceMobile currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.25, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by eight brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.25 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy. Of the eight recommendations that derive the current ABR, seven are Strong Buy, representing 87.5% of all recommendations. Check price target & stock forecast for AST SpaceMobile here>>> The ABR suggests buying AST SpaceMobile, but making an investment decision solely on the basis of this information might not be a good idea. According to several studies, brokerage recommendations have little to no success guiding investors to choose stocks with the most potential for price appreciation. Do you wonder why? As a result of the vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover, their analysts tend to rate it with a strong positive bias. According to our research, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations for every "Strong Sell" recommendation. In other words, their interests aren't always aligned with retail investors, rarely indicating where the price of a stock could actually be heading. Therefore, the best use of this information could be validating your own research or an indicator that has proven to be highly successful in predicting a stock's price movement. With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), is a reliable indicator of a stock's near-term price performance. So, validating the Zacks Rank with ABR could go a long way in making a profitable investment decision. In spite of the fact that Zacks Rank and ABR both appear on a scale from 1 to 5, they are two completely different measures. The ABR is calculated solely based on brokerage recommendations and is typically displayed with decimals (example: 1.28). In contrast, the Zacks Rank is a quantitative model allowing investors to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5. It has been and continues to be the case that analysts employed by brokerage firms are overly optimistic with their recommendations. Because of their employers' vested interests, these analysts issue more favorable ratings than their research would support, misguiding investors far more often than helping them. On the other hand, earnings estimate revisions are at the core of the Zacks Rank. And empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements. Furthermore, the different grades of the Zacks Rank are applied proportionately across all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide earnings estimates for the current year. In other words, at all times, this tool maintains a balance among the five ranks it assigns. There is also a key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank when it comes to freshness. When you look at the ABR, it may not be up-to-date. Nonetheless, since brokerage analysts constantly revise their earnings estimates to reflect changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in predicting future stock prices. In terms of earnings estimate revisions for AST SpaceMobile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has remained unchanged over the past month at -$0.99. Analysts' steady views regarding the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by an unchanged consensus estimate, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to perform in line with the broader market in the near term. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for AST SpaceMobile. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> It may therefore be prudent to be a little cautious with the Buy-equivalent ABR for AST SpaceMobile. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
AST SpaceMobile price target raised to $44 from $36 at B. Riley
B. Riley raised the firm's price target on AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) to $44 from $36 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company is gaining valuable L-band spectrum, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the company reached a comprehensive agreement with Ligado and other parties to settle litigation and enable a consensual restructuring where AST will gain access to 45 MHz of lower mid-band spectrum controlled by Ligado and Viasat (VSAT) subsidiary Inmarsat. Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Published first on TheFly – the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See the top stocks recommended by analysts >> Read More on ASTS: Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue Royal Caribbean, Sunrun, Quantum, ON, AST: Insider Sales Surge! AST SpaceMobile reports settlement term sheet for lower mid-band spectrum access Bullish flow in AST SpaceMobile with shares up 2.11% AST SpaceMobile Stock (ASTS) Rallies Alongside Surging Demand for Satellite Internet AST SpaceMobile to join Russell 1000 Index Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
14-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
A YOLO stock trade and a frugal lifestyle: One millennial's unorthodox — and risky — path to being done with retirement saving by 35
In January, 35-year-old Corey Forsythe stopped making automatic monthly contributions to his retirement account. After eight years of saving and investing, he said he hit $1.125 million across his investments in index funds, stocks, and a 401(k) retirement account. By his calculation, it was enough to fund $120,000 a year in retirement starting at age 60. Forsythe, a pharmacist, has reached Coast FIRE, a subcategory of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, meaning that he's saved enough for retirement and can now let his investments grow on their own while he focuses solely on covering his other expenses. " Coast FIRE always reminded me of when, in pharmacy school, I would try as hard as I could at the beginning of the semester so that by the time the final exam came around, I only needed to get above a 20% or 30% on the test," Forsythe said. "That's how I view Coast FIRE, try really hard and invest as much as possible so that later on you can coast and enjoy your life while you're still young enough to." At the beginning of his Coast FIRE journey, Forsythe aimed to invest $500,000 of his earned income relatively early in his career, which he broke down into a 70/20/10 split. He would allocate 70% of that $500,000 to a mutual fund tracking the broader stock market, 20% of it to an individual stock pick, and keep the remaining 10% in a cash emergency fund. After reaching his $1.125 million Coast FIRE goal in January, Forsythe has been putting his extra money into a savings account to build up his cash reserves. His total holdings across accounts have grown to surpass $2 million, documents viewed by Business Insider showed. A YOLO stock bet While Forsythe certainly followed conventional Coast FIRE tactics such as living frugally and investing regularly, a key part of his success can be attributed to a single so-called YOLO bet — defined as an aggressive, high-risk strategy where an investor dedicates a large chunk of their portfolio to a single trade. Forsythe made his YOLO bet on AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), which he first came across on the Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets in 2022. The stock has a niche following on Reddit and X, dubbed the " SpaceMob", which Forsythe has been monitoring along with company news and earnings reports over the last few years. Combining insights from the online community and his own research, Forythe said he built the confidence to buy 35,000 shares of the stock at $2.88 apiece in 2024. It amounted to a roughly $100,000 wager on ASTS at a time when sentiment was overwhelmingly bearish. The stock is now trading around $39, bringing Forsythe's ASTS holding to more than $1.2 million — and he says he hasn't sold any yet. He acknowledges the investment was a massive risk — and that other people shouldn't treat his good fortune as a replicable model — but it did work out well for him. Balancing student loan repayments and investing student-loan debt right away. "I have a lot of friends who are still trying to pay off their loans as fast as possible, even going as far as still living at home," Forsythe told BI. "After paying them off, their net worth was zero." To Forsythe, it didn't make sense to forgo stock-market returns to pay off his loans faster, particularly when early investing years are key to harnessing the power of compounding. Forsythe's strategy has been to pay off the minimum required balance while still prioritizing investing in the stock market. He's enrolled in the Pay As You Earn repayment plan, which requires him to pay 10% of his discretionary income monthly, which comes out to around $950. After 20 years of qualifying payments, his remaining student loans will be forgiven. Frugal living Coast FIRE wasn't just the product of a risky, well-timed stock bet. Forsythe lived extremely frugally after graduating from pharmacy school. "I kept living like a college student," Forsythe said. "Keeping fixed costs under control is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated FIRE tools." Being a single person with a six-figure pharmacist income definitely made budgeting more straightforward for Forsythe. His monthly budget hovered around $3,000. Other than student loan repayments, Forsythe's biggest monthly expense was his $750 mortgage payment; he had snagged a 625-square-foot condo during the pandemic and locked in a low mortgage rate. Forsythe credits his low housing costs as one of the biggest factors that allowed him to invest aggressively in his brokerage account tracking the stock market. During his high-saving years, he invested between $42,000 to $50,000 annually. "All of the money that I'm earning now, I can just put away, use for travel, go to concerts. I've started to live life a lot more instead of being frugal my whole life," Forsythe said. "It's allowed me to have less stress at work because all I need to do is cover my living expenses."
Globe and Mail
13-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Why a Trump-Musk Feud Could Mean Big Wins for AST SpaceMobile
[content-module:CompanyOverview|NASDAQ:ASTS] But a five-day return of more than 38% could scare many investors off unless there's reason to believe it could be part of a longer-term rally. The major boost to ASTS stock coincided with a highly publicized dispute between President Trump and Elon Musk. Though this feud is not the sole reason ASTS shares have skyrocketed in recent weeks, it is likely the primary driver of this performance. Ultimately, much of the rally aligning with the Trump-Musk back-and-forth probably stems from speculation. Nonetheless, it reveals some critical considerations investors should make about AST SpaceMobile and the rapidly evolving landscape of space companies. Feud Casts Doubt on Starlink AST SpaceMobile has experienced striking growth in recent months, surging by nearly 262% in the last year. However, a lingering thorn in its side is Starlink, the satellite internet service provider subsidiary of Musk's aerospace company SpaceX. Starlink's threats to AST became more significant after last November's election and Musk's close relationship with Trump. Indeed, reports indicated that Starlink began to expand its reach across federal government agencies early into the new Trump administration. Investors in AST and other publicly traded competitors may have worried that Musk's partnership with Trump could result in a monopoly for Starlink. With an estimated two-thirds of internet satellites in orbit being represented by Starlink after the election, this risk appeared likely only to grow. An issue for other satellite-based providers is that there is finite orbital capacity, meaning that once a certain number of satellites are in place at particular orbits, it is difficult or impossible for others to be added. Starlink's early advantage still has the potential to crowd out other companies from getting infrastructure in place, despite AST's moves to rapidly launch a growing number of its own satellites. However, the recent rift between Musk and Trump may have threatened Starlink's advantage. Trump responded to Musk's criticism of the former's signature proposed spending bill by floating the idea of canceling federal contracts held by Musk's companies, presumably including SpaceX. Musk also signaled his willingness to pull back from prior partnerships by suggesting that SpaceX would discontinue the Dragon spacecraft previously used for International Space Station missions, although he later retracted that statement. Potential Impact for AST SpaceMobile While investor response to the public dispute arising between Musk and Trump is speculative, the boost has so far been priced into ASTS shares. This adds to a series of positive developments for AST SpaceMobile, making it an increasingly attractive prospect for many buyers. [content-module:Forecast|NASDAQ:ASTS] The firm has made significant progress in building out its infrastructure, both in terms of satellite launches over recent months and in a series of lucrative, high-profile partnerships with existing telecommunications providers. The company has also recently secured important agreements with multiple government agencies, independently of any developments related to Musk and Starlink. A coordination agreement with the U.S. National Science Foundation and a $43-million new contract award in support of the United States Space Development Agency are prime examples. Another key development for AST is its shift toward commercialization. In its first-quarter earnings, the company said it expects to activate initial cellular broadband capabilities across multiple continents in the coming quarters thanks to partnerships with telecommunications companies in the United States, Europe, and Japan. This is forecast to lead to revenue opportunities of between $50 million and $75 million in the second half of 2025. AST Remains Attractive, Despite Starlink Uncertainty Investors will likely have a hard time predicting whether a blossoming feud between Trump and Musk continues to develop or fade away, and it will be even harder to decipher the potential impacts for Starlink and its competitors. However, AST is an attractive prospect on its own, regardless of these external factors, and is worth investor attention as it continues to expand its reach into a massive addressable market. Where Should You Invest $1,000 Right Now? Before you make your next trade, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. Our team has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and none of the big name stocks were on the list.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AST SpaceMobile Stock (ASTS) Rallies Alongside Surging Demand for Satellite Internet
AST SpaceMobile Inc. (ASTS) is helping shape the future of global internet connectivity through its ambitious satellite-based technology. With the potential to expand reliable internet access to remote and underserved regions, support growing government contracts, and meet the rising demands of data connectivity across industries, satellite internet is emerging as a transformative force in communications (and the stock market). Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter The market for satellite internet is projected to grow rapidly, with analysts estimating it could reach $24.6 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 30%. ASTS stock is following this trend, recording a surging 14% gain over the past week and a 47% gain year-to-date. What sets ASTS apart is its goal to connect standard, unmodified smartphones directly to satellites—unlike competitors such as SpaceX's Starlink, which requires proprietary equipment, or Amazon's (AMZN) Project Kuiper, which focuses on fixed installations. If successful, ASTS could dramatically improve connectivity for billions of people, especially in regions where only about 34% of the Earth currently has cellular coverage. The company has made notable progress toward key technical and operational milestones and holds sufficient capital to support its near-term plans. While ASTS remains a speculative investment at this stage, I believe its long-term potential is significant and view the upside as compelling. AST SpaceMobile's direct-to-smartphone approach requires no special hardware or apps, which could be a game-changing development. This technology could unlock massive markets, particularly in developing countries where traditional internet infrastructure is limited. The company plans to launch five satellites over the next six to nine months, starting with its first Block 2 BlueBird satellite in July 2025. If these launches proceed smoothly, ASTS could begin generating meaningful revenue from both government contracts and commercial partnerships in short order. Manufacturing is another potential key advantage. The company aims to build the capability to produce six satellites per month by late 2025, which would enable rapid network expansion once the technology is proven in orbit. AST SpaceMobile is still in its early stages, burning through cash as it builds its satellite network. The company reported revenue of just $718,000 for Q1 2025, falling well short of the $4 million that analysts expected. The company also reported a net loss of $45.7 million, which is significantly wider than the loss it incurred in the previous year. However, the spacefarer has significantly strengthened its financial position, raising over $500 million in recent funding rounds. With $874 million in cash on hand and manageable debt levels, ASTS has enough runway to execute its plans for at least the next 12 months. Management is projecting dramatic revenue growth with a projected second-half 2025 revenue of $50 million to $75 million. Of course, these projections depend entirely on the successful launch of its satellites and the activation of commercial services, highlighting the crucial role execution plays in the company's near-term success. AST SpaceMobile is ambitiously pushing the boundaries of satellite communications, but that journey (like so many novel technologies) comes with inherent risks that investors should carefully weigh. As AST seeks to fill the gaps of global connectivity, its success hinges on flawless execution. Any hiccup in launching its satellites or deploying its technology could trigger a swift adverse reaction in the share price. The company also faces competition from established titans like SpaceX and Amazon's Blue Origin. For AST to carve out a niche, swift market penetration is crucial to avoid being eclipsed by these well-resourced rivals. Further, establishing a global satellite network involves securing approvals from numerous countries. The layers of bureaucracy, red tape, and regulatory compliance that the company must navigate could slow its expansion timeline. Finally, the path to building a satellite network comes with a hefty price tag. The company is likely to need to raise additional capital in the future, which could result in the dilution of existing shares. The company has recently won several government contracts, including a $43 million deal with the U.S. Space Development Agency, which provides revenue visibility and validates the technology's potential. Meanwhile, members of the Blue Origin management team visited the AST headquarters in Texas recently, sparking speculation of a potential partnership with Amazon. While nothing has been confirmed, such a partnership could provide ASTS with additional resources and credibility. The stock has responded positively to the news (and rumors), with shares up over 23% in the past month, bullishly trading above major moving averages (20-day, 50-day, and 200-day). TipRanks currently rates AST SpaceMobile as a Strong Buy, based on the consensus of five analyst recommendations. The stock carries an average price target of $38.60, suggesting a potential upside of 24% over the next twelve months. AST SpaceMobile has caught Wall Street's attention. In a recent report by Scotiabank's Andres Coello, ASTS has been given a Buy rating, along with a price target of $45.40. Coello noted speculation surrounding potential interest from Amazon's Jeff Bezos, especially after a recent Instagram post hinted at possible collaborations with Blue Origin. Meanwhile, Cantor Fitzgerald's Colin Canfield has reiterated an Overweight rating with a $30 price target, highlighting the company is nearing its full-year revenue guidance for the first time, backed by constructive updates on satellite deployment and defense equipment bookings. He notes optimism surrounding the company's strategic moves, despite an anticipated rise in deployment costs. AST SpaceMobile is at the forefront of next-generation global connectivity. The market opportunity is significant, and the underlying technology holds considerable promise. That said, the company faces a range of challenges, including technical hurdles, funding requirements, regulatory complexities, and intense competition. This investment may not be appropriate for all investors. Still, for those with a higher risk tolerance, ASTS offers exposure to potentially game-changing innovation in the rapidly expanding satellite internet sector. With the satellite internet revolution approaching, I remain optimistic about AST SpaceMobile's potential to play a leading role in shaping its future. Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
