AST SpaceMobile Stock Pulls Back: What's Going On?

AST SpaceMobile Inc ASTS shares pulled back Tuesday. The stock surged in recent sessions after the company reported second-quarter financial results and announced that it's on track to launch five satellites in early September.

What Happened: AST SpaceMobile announced last week that its first five commercial satellites, called BlueBirds, are on target for orbital launch in the first half of September. The company said it expects initial nationwide, non-continuous service to be available with AT&T and Verizon beta test users following in-orbit service activation over the coming months.

The BlueBird satellites feature the largest-ever commercial communications arrays to be deployed in low Earth orbit. The company said the upcoming launch marks a big leap forward in AST SpaceMobile's mission to deliver seamless cellular broadband connectivity to billions of mobile users worldwide.

“We stand at a pivotal moment for AST SpaceMobile. The arrival of our first five commercial satellites at the launch site marks the culmination of years of relentless innovation and perseverance, in partnership with industry leaders like AT&T, Google, Verizon, Vodafone and Rakuten, among others,” said Abel Avellan, founder, chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile.

“The upcoming orbital launch is a significant step toward fulfilling our mission to eliminate dead zones and empower communities worldwide with space-based cellular broadband connectivity.”

AST SpaceMobile shares are now up about more than 175% over the past month and up nearly 550% year-to-date.

Scotiabank analyst Andres Coello maintained AST SpaceMobile with a Sector Outperform rating and raised the price target from $21.10 to $28 on Monday.

It’s worth noting that the stock is popular among retail investors and has been trending across various social sites in recent weeks. AST SpaceMobile was among the top 10 trending tickers on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets to start the week and the space stock made it on Benzinga’s Stock Whisper Index at the end of last week. It was also among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits as of publication time.

See Also: Benzinga’s ‘Stock Whisper’ Index: 5 Stocks Investors Secretly Monitor But Don’t Talk About Yet

Last Friday, AST SpaceMobile announced that a limited number of spaces are available for qualified retail shareholders to attend the launch of the BlueBird 1-5 Mission at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The company said the first five commercial satellites arrived at the launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and were undergoing final preparations.

ASTS Price Action: AST SpaceMobile shares were down 16% at $32.41 at the time of writing, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of AST SpaceMobile.