What's Going On With AST SpaceMobile Stock On Wednesday?

AST SpaceMobile Inc ASTS shares are trading higher after the company announced a partnership with Verizon Communications Inc VZ to provide Verizon customers with direct-to-cellular AST SpaceMobile service when needed.

The deal involves a commitment of $100 million from Verizon, including $65 million ​of​ commercial prepayments, $45 million of which are subject to earnout, and $35 million of convertible notes.

“This new partnership with Verizon will enable AST SpaceMobile to target 100% coverage of the continental United States on premium 850 MHz spectrum with two major U.S. mobile operators in the most valuable wireless market in the world, a transformational commercial milestone,” said Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of AST SpaceMobile. 

AST SpaceMobile has agreements with over 45 mobile network operators globally who collectively serve over 2.8 billion existing subscribers.

Earlier in May, AST SpaceMobile inked a deal with AT&T Inc T to provide a space-based broadband network directly to cell phones. 

Verizon’s partnering with a satellite communication provider is not new to the industry. Apple Inc AAPL made big news when it partnered with Globalstar, Inc GSAT, a global satellite service.

Apple earmarked $450 million of its Advanced Manufacturing Fund to support the critical infrastructure powering Emergency SOS via satellite for safety capability for the iPhone 14 lineup. 

Available to customers in the U.S. and Canada shortly, the new service will allow iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models to connect directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services when outside of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage.

Also Read: Apple Partner Globalstar Stock Is Falling After Q3 Performance – What’s Going On?

Also, AST SpaceMobile reported fiscal first-quarter sales of $0.5 million, which missed analyst consensus of $5.5 million.

The company reported an adjusted EPS loss of $(0.16), which beat the consensus loss of $(0.21).

AST SpaceMobile stock lost over 2% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Procure Space ETF UFO and SPDR S&P Telecom ETF XTL.

Price Action: ASTS shares were up 19.50% at $6.38 premarket at the last check on Wednesday.