By the Top Tier Newswire AI Desk · July 17, 2026 at 2:57 PM ET · reviewed against 37 wire stories
AST SPACEMOBILE INC A (ASTS) is up +6.69% in the latest session. Our newswire has captured 37 stories on ASTS across 13 sources in the last 36 hours, with AI sentiment reading mixed (avg 43/100).
AST SpaceMobile Inc. (ASTS) surged 6.69% to $58.69 in morning trading, driven primarily by a positive analyst upgrade from B. Riley and broader market dynamics in the space sector. The stock had faced a sharp selloff in recent weeks, but the firm's upgrade to Buy from Neutral, citing the company's strengthened capital position, has reignited investor interest. Meanwhile, a rescheduled SpaceX launch date and mixed sentiment in the space sector have added to the stock's volatility.
What Happened
B. Riley analyst Mike Crawford upgraded ASTS to Buy from Neutral, noting that the company now has sufficient capital to launch its global SpaceMobile D2D constellation following a recent equity offering. This upgrade came after a week marked by a $1 billion convertible notes offering and a service delay that led to a significant price drop. The analyst's move appears to have shifted sentiment, with the stock jumping more than 10% in early trading. Piper Sandler also expressed a bullish stance, with analyst Alexander Potter highlighting the company's position in the space sector. Meanwhile, SpaceX's rescheduled Starship launch and its recent struggles have created a mixed backdrop for space stocks.
What The Data Shows
The stock opened at $54.71, slightly below the previous close, but quickly reversed course to hit a session high of $61.67 at 1:15 PM ET. Volume has reached 18.4 million shares, which is 0.9 times the 3-month average. ASTS has fallen 24.3% over the last 8 sessions, from $76.62 to $58.01. The stock has a market cap of $20.6 billion, with a beta of 2.68 and a 52-week range of $36.08 to $133.86. In the last 36 hours, 10 unusual options prints were recorded, with put premiums totaling $121.3 million and call premiums at $6.1 million. The largest single print was $49.0 million.
What To Watch
The stock is set to continue under analyst and market scrutiny as it navigates a volatile space sector. Investors should monitor upcoming developments related to the company's capital deployment and the broader space economy theme.
AI-assisted analysis composed exclusively from headlines and data on the Top Tier newswire. Not financial advice.