NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2025, 10:06 a.m. ET — Market closed (weekend).
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) heads into the final trading week of 2025 with investors balancing a major technical milestone—its record-size BlueBird 6 satellite now in orbit—against a sharp late-week pullback and renewed debate over valuation, insider trading optics, and the pace of commercialization.
With U.S. markets closed Sunday, the key question for Monday’s session (Dec. 29) is whether ASTS can stabilize after a high-volatility stretch that saw shares swing dramatically around the BlueBird 6 launch headlines.
Where ASTS stands with markets closed
ASTS last traded around $71.95, down about 7.8% versus the prior close, based on the latest available quote and the most recent completed U.S. session. [1]
Friday’s move (Dec. 26) reflected heavy two-way action: ASTS opened near $77.00, hit a session high around $77.40, and slid to about $71.03 at the low before finishing near $71.95, with volume around 19.4 million shares. [2]
Several market trackers also characterized the week as a pause or pullback after the stock’s explosive run earlier in 2025, noting elevated retail attention and search interest around the ticker. [3]
The freshest news in the last 24–48 hours: “operations in coming weeks”
One of the most notable weekend headlines comes from India: The Economic Times (PTI) reported that AST SpaceMobile expects the newly launched BlueBird Block‑2 satellite to commence operations in the coming weeks, reinforcing that the next near-term catalyst is not the launch itself—but commissioning and early on-orbit performance updates. [4]
While “BlueBird Block‑2” and “BlueBird 6” have been used differently across coverage, the practical investor takeaway is the same: the story now pivots from liftoff to deployment, testing, and service-readiness milestones.
Why BlueBird 6 matters to the stock narrative
BlueBird 6 is central to AST SpaceMobile’s bull thesis because it’s positioned as the first in a next-generation fleet intended to bring direct-to-standard-smartphone connectivity (4G/5G) via low Earth orbit satellites.
In its launch announcement distributed via Business Wire, AST described BlueBird 6 as the largest commercial communications array ever deployed in LEO, with an array of nearly 2,400 square feet, and positioned it to support space-based cellular broadband directly to unmodified phones. [5]
Space-focused coverage added technical context: Space.com reported the satellite’s scale and that it reached orbit after launch from India, emphasizing the mission’s “record-breaking” size and payload characteristics. [6]
AST’s own “Next-Generation BlueBird” materials also highlight that the satellite launched on Dec. 23, 2025 and now joins the company’s existing spacecraft in low Earth orbit—again underscoring that the next proof points are on-orbit. [7]
The stock’s volatility: surge on launch week, then a sharp retreat
The market’s reaction has been anything but calm. Earlier in the launch cycle, multiple outlets described ASTS as one of the hottest “space stock” trades of 2025, with sharp rallies into key milestones and similarly sharp reversals as traders took profits.
Investor’s Business Daily noted that on the day tied to the launch news flow, ASTS surged intraday—then swung lower into the close, highlighting how sensitive the stock has been to positioning and sentiment even with positive developments. [8]
Yahoo Finance historical pricing around the launch week also shows the magnitude of those swings, including the stock’s move from the high-$80s/low-$90s area earlier in the week down to the low-$70s by Friday’s close. [9]
Insider trades are back in focus—what the filings actually show
The late-week pullback has also refocused attention on insider transactions. Importantly, the most concrete information comes from SEC filings:
- CTO Huiwen Yao reported a sale of 40,000 shares dated Dec. 5, 2025, with the filing stating it was executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted earlier in 2025 and reporting a weighted average selling price (with sales executed across a range). [10]
- COO Shanti Gupta reported a sale of 10,000 shares dated Dec. 10, 2025 at $77.34 per share. [11]
- On the other side of the ledger, director Keith R. Larson reported a purchase of 715 shares dated Dec. 17, 2025 at $70.02, held indirectly via an IRA, also noting a Rule 10b5-1 plan adoption date. [12]
Separately, a Reuters/Refinitiv item circulated via TradingView also referenced a Form 144 filing related to a proposed sale by the COO, adding to the near-term “insider selling” conversation that traders often latch onto in momentum names. [13]
Bottom line: the filings indicate both sales and a purchase, and at least some of the activity is explicitly tied to 10b5-1 plans, which can reduce the informational signal investors typically assign to discretionary insider trades. [14]
Today’s published analyses: what bulls and skeptics are emphasizing
In weekend commentary, analysts and market writers have split into two broad camps:
1) “Execution phase is here” (milestones matter more than hype).
A Seeking Alpha analysis published Sunday argues AST’s story is increasingly about measurable execution milestones—i.e., what the company can prove in orbit and how quickly it can scale from demonstration to service. [15]
2) “The pullback may be about narrative, not fundamentals.”
A Trefis note published Saturday framed the Friday selloff as a case where “insider sale” headlines and short-term fear may have outweighed the positive satellite milestone in the market’s immediate reaction. [16]
Meanwhile, the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) also highlighted the size of Friday’s decline and reiterated the key mechanical point: the stock’s move reflected a sizeable percentage drop from the prior close. [17]
Analyst forecasts and price targets: wide dispersion signals uncertainty
For investors looking for Wall Street-style guardrails, ASTS is unusual: price targets vary significantly depending on the data provider and which analysts are included, implying higher uncertainty and potentially shifting coverage.
A snapshot of published aggregations:
- TipRanks shows an average price target around $72.39, with a high forecast of $95 and a low of $43 (based on the analysts included in its dataset). [18]
- Zacks lists an average target around $73.23 based on its set of short-term price targets. [19]
- Yahoo Finance shows a 1-year target estimate around $71.51. [20]
- MarketBeat’s aggregation, by contrast, shows a much lower average target (about $45.66), illustrating how different inclusion criteria can swing “consensus” dramatically. [21]
How to read this: when a stock is highly thematic and early in revenue scale-up, targets can be especially sensitive to assumptions about launch cadence, capacity, service timing, and financing/dilution risk—so the spread itself becomes information. [22]
On the operating outlook, a Motley Fool piece republished by Nasdaq pointed to very rapid projected sales growth in 2026 in “sell-side” forecasts and suggested profitability could be reachable further out if scaling goes to plan—another sign that the bull case hinges on execution and timeline credibility. [23]
If you’re watching Monday: the specific catalysts that matter most
Because the market is closed today, ASTS trading on Monday is likely to react to any weekend developments plus positioning going into year-end. Here’s what investors typically focus on next for AST SpaceMobile—especially after BlueBird 6 reached orbit:
1) Commissioning updates and “first light” style milestones
The Economic Times report that operations could begin in the coming weeks raises expectations for updates on deployment, testing, and early performance. A clear, credible timeline can move the stock quickly. [24]
2) Any new SEC filings (especially Forms 4/144 or capital-markets activity)
Given heightened sensitivity to insider trade narratives, additional filings can become a headline driver even when they’re pre-planned. The December Form 4s show the market has plenty to discuss. [25]
3) 2026 launch cadence and commercialization milestones
Several prior reports have framed 2026 as the scale-up year. Investor’s Business Daily and MarketWatch have both described plans that include a significant number of additional satellites and a push toward service expansion—exact timing and “coverage reality” will matter. [26]
Bloomberg similarly emphasized the ambition to launch many more next-generation satellites in 2026, which is why any supply chain or launch-slot updates can move sentiment. [27]
4) Partner ecosystem follow-through
AST’s investment narrative leans heavily on telecom partnerships. Reuters previously reported Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile plans around a Europe-led satellite constellation—developments on that front remain an important read-through for long-term demand and regulatory alignment. [28]
One more “before the bell” item: next earnings date is still not definitive
Investors tracking catalysts beyond satellite milestones may look to the next earnings report, but calendars disagree and some explicitly note the date is not yet confirmed by the company.
- Zacks lists an expected next earnings release around March 2, 2026. [29]
- MarketBeat states AST SpaceMobile has not confirmed its next earnings publication date and provides March 2, 2026 as an estimate based on prior patterns. [30]
- Yahoo Finance also displays Mar. 2, 2026 as an estimated earnings date. [31]
Given the mixed calendar data, many investors will treat earnings timing as a secondary issue until AST posts the confirmed date on its investor channels. [32]
The setup for Monday’s session
ASTS enters Monday with a “two-track” storyline: real technical progress (a major satellite milestone with commissioning ahead) alongside classic momentum-stock fragility (sharp pullbacks, narrative-driven trading, and intense focus on insider filings). [33]
If investors get clear, credible commissioning updates—and no new surprises on filings or financing—the stock could attempt to rebuild confidence after Friday’s slide. If not, the wide dispersion in analyst targets and the stock’s recent volatility suggest ASTS may remain highly reactive to headlines as 2025 turns into 2026. [34]
References
1. finance.yahoo.com, 2. finance.yahoo.com, 3. www.quiverquant.com, 4. m.economictimes.com, 5. www.businesswire.com, 6. www.space.com, 7. ast-science.com, 8. www.investors.com, 9. finance.yahoo.com, 10. www.sec.gov, 11. www.sec.gov, 12. www.sec.gov, 13. www.tradingview.com, 14. www.sec.gov, 15. seekingalpha.com, 16. www.trefis.com, 17. www.aaii.com, 18. www.tipranks.com, 19. www.zacks.com, 20. finance.yahoo.com, 21. www.marketbeat.com, 22. www.tipranks.com, 23. www.nasdaq.com, 24. m.economictimes.com, 25. www.sec.gov, 26. www.investors.com, 27. www.bloomberg.com, 28. www.reuters.com, 29. www.zacks.com, 30. www.marketbeat.com, 31. finance.yahoo.com, 32. www.marketbeat.com, 33. m.economictimes.com, 34. www.tipranks.com
