ASTS Stock Rises As Q1 Earnings Loom: Execs Tout Growing Government Demand And New Texas Factory’s Capacity

• ASTS executive Michael P. said the company’s ability to support warfighter needs has made the company “more important than ever to the USG community.”
• The company's new Midland, Texas facility is built for high-volume production of “Microns,” the modular building blocks used in next-gen BlueBird satellites.
• The company said that the Midland site can produce up to six satellites per month, supporting launches every one to two months on average.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) jumped 2% in overnight trading heading into Monday, ahead of its earnings report, after company executives highlighted rising U.S. government opportunities and rapid scaling at its massive new Texas satellite manufacturing facility.

ASTS stock snapped three straight weeks of losses, ending 6% higher at $75.05.

AST Execs Spotlight Government Opportunity

Michael P., who leads U.S. government strategy, business development and sales at AST SpaceMobile, noted on LinkedIn the company’s ability to manufacture at scale through its new Midland facility, along with its existing West Texas operations.

“At AST SpaceMobile, our capacity to manufacture enormous satellites at scale and doing this with incredible speed, while demonstrating our flexibility to meet the warfighter needs have made us more important than ever to the USG community,” he said.  

Separately, Roy Sofer, AST SpaceMobile’s chief engineer and senior vice president of engineering, said on LinkedIn that the facility represents the “highest standard of space production at scale.” Last week, AST SpaceMobile released a promotional tour video of its new Midland, Texas manufacturing site, a 500,000-square-foot facility built for high-volume production of “Microns,” the modular building blocks used in the company’s next-gen BlueBird satellites.

Inside AST SpaceMobile’s Massive Texas Expansion

The new facility tour video highlighted AST SpaceMobile’s vertically integrated manufacturing strategy and its efforts to rapidly scale satellite production for its space-based cellular broadband network. The video showed robotic assembly systems, automated production lines, testing stations and technicians assembling satellites.

AST SpaceMobile said that the Midland site can produce up to six satellites per month, backing one to two launches every one to two months on average. The next-gen BlueBird satellites are expected to carry some of the largest commercial phased-array systems deployed in low Earth orbit (LEO), enabling direct-to-cell broadband connectivity for standard, unmodified smartphones.

The Midland expansion is also part of AST SpaceMobile’s manufacturing footprint, which spans facilities across Texas and Florida, with over 1,800 workers in Texas operations alone.

ASTS Q1 Preview

Wall Street is now turning its attention to AST SpaceMobile’s first-quarter (Q1) earnings report due Monday. Fiscal AI estimates revenue of $40 million for the quarter, compared with $3.25 million a year earlier. Analysts also expect a narrower quarterly loss of $0.17 per share, compared with $0.21 per share last year.

According to Koyfin data, analysts maintain an average 12-month price target of $83.9 on ASTS shares, implying a 12% upside from current levels.

Falcon 9 Launch Timeline Back In Focus

The manufacturing update comes after AST SpaceMobile said that three BlueBird satellites are scheduled for a mid-June launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The company also said that 32 next-generation satellites are already in advanced stages of assembly. The update eased some investor concerns that AST SpaceMobile’s deployment timeline had been derailed after last month’s failed BlueBird-7 mission aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn Mission-3 launch.

Last month, BlueBird-7 successfully separated from the rocket but failed to reach its intended orbit after the launch vehicle’s second stage malfunctioned. AST SpaceMobile previously said that the satellite is expected to de-orbit and that insurance is expected to cover the loss. The failed deployment triggered a sharp selloff in ASTS shares and intensified concerns around whether the company can still achieve its goal of placing 45 satellites into orbit by year-end. However, Bank of America Securities (BofA) has estimated that the company could fall short of that target by seven satellites.

Rakuten Selling Overhang Clears

Investors are also monitoring recent stake sales from Rakuten Mobile, AST SpaceMobile’s largest investor. A recent filing showed that Rakuten completed its previously disclosed trading plan and sold all shares included under the program. According to the filing, Rakuten Mobile, founder Hiroshi Mikitani and Rakuten Group now collectively own 15.5 million ASTS shares, representing a 5.3% stake, down from 11% previously.

The filing detailed several open-market sales between April 27 and May 5, including a 1.8 million-share sale on April 30. Final transactions were executed at average prices of $65 per share.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About ASTS?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for ASTS jumped to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ levels a week ago amid a 190% jump in message volumes over the same period. 

One user said, “If earnings land clean, this becomes a momentum continuation candidate with upside air pockets toward the 50-day near ~$85.”

Another user said, “How high do you think AST SpaceMobile Inc will go following its Q1 earnings beat on Monday? I SAY OVER $80 EASILY...MAYBE $90++!” 

ASTS stock has jumped 197% over the past year. 

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