NEW YORK, July 4, 2026, 16:02 (ET)
- AST SpaceMobile, Inc. NASDAQ:ASTS added 19.15% over the four-session week, ending at $85.13. U.S. markets closed Friday for Independence Day.
- Shares ended close to the average analyst target of $85.36 and the median target at $85.00. Short interest is at 24.09% of float.
- Japan is set to grant up to 148 billion yen ($912 million) to Rakuten Group (TYO:4755), pushing ASTS’s non-U.S. launch story in front again.
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. NASDAQ:ASTS finished the shortened U.S. trading week up 19.15% at $85.13. The move came after Reuters said Japan plans to give up to 148 billion yen, or $912 million, to Rakuten Group (TYO:4755) for a satellite communications network. Rakuten is reportedly in talks with AST SpaceMobile to set up a joint venture for that project.
No regular U.S. stock trading happened Friday. NYSE and Nasdaq both show July 3, 2026, as a market holiday for Independence Day.
Turnover was the low-key number to watch this week. ASTS saw around 91.76 million shares change hands over four sessions, going by Wall Street Journal’s daily volume. That’s about 35% of its 259.43 million public float and puts turnover at 1.47x the latest 62.49 million share short interest.
| Session | Close | Daily move | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 29 | $86.77 | up 21.4% | 33.36 mln |
| June 30 | $88.86 | gained 2.4% | 24.19 mln |
| July 1 | $86.10 | dropped 3.1% | 18.22 mln |
| July 2 | $85.13 | down 1.1% | 15.99 mln |
Trading volume dropped every day after Monday. By Thursday, volume was under half of Monday’s level, but the stock kept much of its weekly gain. That’s important since the close is now nearly at Wall Street’s target, so there isn’t much space left for an easy target-chase move.
| Instrument | Latest close | Latest session | Week | 2026 YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AST SpaceMobile NASDAQ:ASTS | $85.13 | fell 1.13% | up 19.15% this week | up 17.21% in 2026 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 25,832.67 | dropped 0.8% | gained 2.1% for the week | up 11.1% year-to-date |
| S&P 500 | 7,483.24 | unchanged | added 1.8% on the week | now up 9.3% on the year |
| Russell 2000 | 2,996.11 | lost 0.5% | down 0.5% for the week | showing a 20.7% gain in 2026 |
ASTS outperformed the Nasdaq Composite by around 17 percentage points this week. Shares are still behind the Russell 2000 on the year, despite this move.
Analysts are divided on ASTS. WSJ lists 13 ratings: two buys, eight holds, one underweight, two sells. The average price target comes in at $85.36, ranging from a high of $115 to a low at $41.20.
Valuing AST SpaceMobile isn’t simple. Google Finance lists its market cap at $33.04 billion right now. The firm expects to bring in $150 million to $200 million in revenue for 2026, about half of that from orders already in the books. That means the stock is trading around 165 to 220 times the 2026 revenue target.
AST SpaceMobile said its next big date is the satellite launch window. The company said BlueBirds 11, 12 and 13 are planned to go up from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 in the first half of August. That follows June’s launch of BlueBirds 8, 9 and 10. “With each successful launch, we move closer to our goal,” president Scott Wisniewski said. Business Wire
Chairman and CEO Abel Avellan said after the June launch, “This first stacked launch is just the beginning.” AST SpaceMobile says its new BlueBird satellites should hit peak data speeds close to twice what the first Block 1 satellites managed. Block 1 reached 98.9 Mbps direct to regular smartphones. Via Satellite
Japan is looking to cut its use of foreign low-orbit satellite services like Starlink, according to Reuters. Officials aim to improve communications in hard-to-reach areas and after disasters. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. NASDAQ:SPCX owns Starlink. For ASTS, the grant is key. It could move a carrier partnership into a government-supported market outside the U.S.
Telecom shares also took a hit. MarketWatch said Wednesday that AT&T Inc. NYSE:T and Verizon Communications Inc. NYSE:VZ both lost ground this week as investors watched for the risk from SpaceX’s Starlink moving into wireless. For ASTS, SpaceX is a competitor in direct-to-device, but concern about Starlink among big carriers means ASTS can play as a hedge partner.
U.S. markets open again on Monday, July 6, with $85 the key level to watch. A move past the average target, if there’s no new information from the company, would point to trading flows driving action. If shares hold around $85 on lighter volume, attention likely goes back to August’s launch window and the pending Rakuten filing.
