NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 12:19 ET — Regular session
- AST SpaceMobile shares rose about 6.5% in midday trade, extending a volatile post-launch stretch.
- The company’s COO said the BlueBird 6 satellite is expected to start operations “in the coming weeks,” and outlined a faster launch rhythm into early 2026. 1
- A U.S. regulatory filing showed director Keith Larson bought shares last week under a pre-arranged trading plan. 2
Shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) rose 6.5% to $76.09 in midday trading on Tuesday, after the satellite-to-smartphone firm and one of its carrier partners flagged progress toward a larger constellation. The stock opened at $72.10 and traded between $72.07 and $78.27, with about 10.6 million shares changing hands.
The rally matters because AST is trying to prove it can deliver “direct-to-device” service — a satellite link that works with standard smartphones without special hardware — and investors are using each launch and testing milestone as a readout on execution. 3
With the network still in buildout mode, timelines for satellites becoming operational and the pace of launches tend to move the stock more than near-term financials. Traders have treated recent updates as a referendum on whether the company can move from demonstrations to repeatable deployment.
In comments carried by India’s PTI on Monday, AST chief operating officer Shanti B. Gupta said BlueBird 6 is expected to begin operations soon. “In the coming weeks, it will start operations,” Gupta told PTI, adding that the company anticipates about five BlueBird launches by the end of the first quarter of 2026 and is targeting 45–60 satellites by the end of 2026. 1
AT&T said in a blog post on Monday that the BlueBird 6 launch brings it “one step closer” to satellite broadband for customers, and wrote that AST has said it is on track to complete four more launches by March 2026. AT&T also said it has brought a fourth ground “gateway” online — ground stations that connect satellite traffic into the carrier’s terrestrial network — and plans a beta satellite service for a select group of AT&T customers and FirstNet public-safety users in the first half of 2026. 4
A Form 4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed director and 10% owner Keith Larson bought 625 shares at $80 each on Dec. 24 through an IRA. The filing said the trade was made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted on Sept. 8, a pre-arranged trading program that schedules transactions in advance. 2
AST has pitched BlueBird 6 as the first of its next-generation satellites and said it was launched on Dec. 23 from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre. On its website, the company also lists a “coming soon” BlueBird 7 launch and cautions that orbital schedules can change due to launch readiness and weather. 5
The latest updates land as telecom operators globally test satellite links as a complement to terrestrial networks, especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas. Vodafone and AST outlined plans in November for a Europe-led satellite constellation aimed at satellite-to-smartphone connectivity for commercial and government use. 6
Separately, law firm Levi & Korsinsky said on Tuesday it had opened an investigation into AST over possible federal securities law violations tied to a mid-December launch delay, in a notice seeking to hear from investors. 7
Investors will be looking for follow-through beyond Tuesday’s bounce, including confirmation that BlueBird 6 can deliver stable voice and data links to unmodified phones and that additional launches stay on schedule.
The next catalysts are expected to be operational updates as BlueBird 6 enters service, clarity on the timing of the next launches, and any signals from carrier partners that trials are moving into broader beta programs.
For now, AST’s stock remains tightly tethered to execution: on-orbit performance, launch cadence, and the pace at which partners translate satellite connectivity trials into commercial offerings in 2026.
