AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) shares surged 19.5% on May 26, closing at $126.45 after hitting an intraday high of $127.10, extending a remarkable run that has taken the stock from around $70.89 in early May to its current level — a gain of more than 75% in a matter of weeks.
The latest catalyst is a newly announced joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon aimed at closing direct-to-device satellite coverage gaps, a development that ASTS management publicly welcomed and positioned the company as a key enabling technology for.
AST SpaceMobile already holds investment relationships with AT&T and Verizon, and the JV framework could open the door to a deeper commercial relationship with T-Mobile, adding a significant new potential revenue avenue for the company.
Roth Capital responded with a price target increase from $82.50 to $108, reiterating its Buy rating and arguing that soft Q1 revenue figures were timing noise rather than a sign of structural weakness, with launch cadence remaining the real driver of long-term value.
Roth also highlighted that AST SpaceMobile is fully funded with over 100 satellites and approximately $3.5 billion in cash on the balance sheet, giving the company ample runway to build out its network without near-term capital concerns.
B. Riley lifted its price target to $85 but maintained a Neutral rating, citing elevated capital expenditure requirements, light Q1 revenue, and uncertainty around launch partner Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.
Bank of America and UBS both trimmed their targets to $95 and $80 respectively, keeping Neutral ratings and flagging back-half-weighted launch schedules and revenue recognition timing as key risks.
New Street Research initiated coverage at Neutral with an $80 target, reinforcing a broad Hold consensus despite the stock’s explosive price action.
On the fundamentals, AST SpaceMobile remains deeply early-stage, with trailing revenue of approximately $70.9 million against a price-to-sales ratio near 483x and free cash flow of negative $327.3 million in the latest quarter.
Defiance ETFs is also launching ASTY, a 2x daily leveraged single-stock ETF tied to ASTS, giving traders a new instrument to amplify both gains and losses on the name.
