AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) surged 7% in pre-market trading Tuesday after confirming plans to launch its BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 17.
The company said the satellites will support space-based cellular broadband services, including voice, data, and video, delivered directly to standard, unmodified smartphones without any special hardware.
The upcoming launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, comes nearly two months after BlueBird 7 failed to reach its intended orbit during Blue Origin’s New Glenn Mission-3 launch in April.
CEO Abel Avellan confirmed the BlueBird 7 issue stemmed from the rocket’s second stage, which failed to deliver the spacecraft to the planned orbit, though the satellite did successfully separate and power on.
The pre-market rally follows a rough stretch for the stock, which declined more than 22% across the four prior trading sessions heading into Tuesday.
Scott Wisniewski, President of AST SpaceMobile, framed the latest launch as a milestone for the company’s broader ambitions, stating, “Our next-generation BlueBird satellites, the largest phase-arrays ever deployed in low Earth orbit, together with our expanding manufacturing capabilities, position AST SpaceMobile to continue scaling toward continuous global space-based cellular broadband coverage supported by a diversified launch strategy.”
The company has built a substantial network of commercial partnerships, counting AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Rakuten, Google, Bell, Telus, and American Tower among its strategic partners, alongside agreements with nearly 60 mobile network operators globally.
Pressure on the stock has also been linked to investor concerns over SpaceX’s anticipated market debut, which is expected to rank among the largest U.S. IPOs on record and could draw capital away from satellite sector competitors.
Barclays added further weight to the bearish case, cutting its price target on ASTS to $60 from $65 while maintaining an Underweight rating, citing launch delays and recent operating performance as key factors in its revised outlook.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits remained bearish over the prior 24 hours, though at least one user expressed optimism that the stock could climb to $120, with shares trading at around $98 at the time.
Despite near-term volatility, ASTS shares have still gained more than 30% year-to-date, reflecting underlying investor confidence in the company’s long-term space-based broadband strategy.
