AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) delivered a major technical milestone on December 24, 2025—but the stock delivered a very different kind of headline: a sharp, volatile reversal that looked like classic “buy the rumor, sell the news.”
After the company confirmed the successful orbital launch of BlueBird 6, ASTS swung from an early surge to a steep drop by the end of the holiday-shortened session. Shares closed at $78.05, down 8.85%, after trading as high as $92.85 and as low as $76.98 on the day. Volume was heavy at roughly 26.0 million shares, underscoring how crowded (and reactive) positioning around this catalyst had become.
What happened on Dec. 24: BlueBird 6 reaches orbit
AST SpaceMobile announced that BlueBird 6—its newest and largest satellite to date—successfully reached orbit after lifting off at 10:25 p.m. EST on Dec. 23 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. [1]
The company is pitching BlueBird 6 as a step-change in capability:
- Nearly 2,400 square feet of communications array
- Over 3x the size and 10x the capacity of the company’s previously launched BlueBird satellites
- Designed to enable peak data rates up to 120 Mbpsdirectly to standard, unmodified smartphones (plus government-focused applications) [2]
AST also said BlueBird 6 was assembled and tested in Midland, Texas, as part of a broader manufacturing footprint that the company describes as nearly 500,000 square feet globally, supported by 1,800+ employees and 3,800+ patents and patent-pending claims. [3]
Independent space coverage added mission detail: Space.com reported BlueBird 6 reached low Earth orbit shortly after launch, with deployment occurring roughly 15.5 minutes after liftoff at about 324 miles (521 km) altitude. [4]
Why did ASTS stock fall on “good news”?
The market’s reaction wasn’t about whether the launch worked—it did. The selloff looked more like a collision between sky-high expectations and holiday-thin liquidity, with traders quickly locking in gains after a huge 2025 run.
1) A holiday-shortened session amplifies swings
U.S. markets closed early at 1:00 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve, which tends to compress liquidity and make price moves more abrupt. [5]
The Associated Press noted that overall trading was “extremely light” across the NYSE—about a third of typical daily volume—even as the broader market drifted higher to fresh records. [6]
That backdrop matters: when liquidity is thin, momentum names often move like they’re on ice skates.
2) “Sell-the-news” dynamics after a big run
By the time BlueBird 6 flew, ASTS had already become one of the market’s most talked-about “space connectivity” stocks. Investor’s Business Daily described a day where ASTS spiked early and then retreated hard into the close, a pattern consistent with traders de-risking after a catalyst lands. [7]
3) Options and short interest add fuel
Schaeffer’s Research highlighted unusually intense derivatives activity, reporting roughly 75,000 calls vs. 40,000 puts traded early in the session and pointing to a heavily watched weekly call strike. The same note cited 36.62 million shares sold short, about 16.3% of the float, which can intensify volatility in both directions. [8]
Separately, TheFly (via TipRanks) listed ASTS among the day’s unusually active option classes at the open—another sign that much of the trading was event-driven rather than fundamentals-driven. [9]
The core bull case: “cell towers in space” that work with normal phones
AST SpaceMobile’s pitch remains unusually specific: it’s building a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect directly with everyday smartphones (no special satellite handset, no external antenna).
The BlueBird 6 milestone matters because AST is trying to prove it can scale from demos and early satellites into a commercial-grade constellation. In its launch announcement, the company reiterated:
- Plans to launch 45–60 satellites by the end of 2026
- A launch cadence of every one or two months on average
- Agreements with 50+ mobile network operators representing nearly 3 billion subscribers
- Strategic partnerships that include AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Rakuten, Google, American Tower, Bell, and stc Group [10]
Bloomberg framed the moment more bluntly: AST just launched its biggest satellite yet as it tries to compete in the rapidly evolving space-based connectivity market dominated by SpaceX’s Starlink ecosystem. [11]
Analyst forecasts on Dec. 24: big dispersion, mixed ratings
If you’re looking for a single “Wall Street consensus” on ASTS, the frustrating truth is: it depends where you look, and the spread itself tells a story—analysts and data providers are not aligned on near-term valuation for a company that’s still moving from build-out to commercialization.
Here’s what major market-data aggregators show as of Dec. 24:
- Investing.com (8 analysts): average $71.51 price target, with a $43 low and $95 high; overall “Buy”-leaning mix (buys/holds/sells). [12]
- StockAnalysis (7 analysts): average $59.37 target, range $30 to $95, with a displayed consensus rating of “Buy.” [13]
- MarketBeat (11 analysts): consensus rating “Hold” and average target $45.66, with targets shown from $30 to $60. [14]
That gap is not a rounding error—it’s the market shouting that ASTS is hard to model right now. Some analysts appear to be underwriting rapid execution and strong pricing power; others are anchoring on dilution/financing risk, timelines, and the reality that satellite networks are capital-intensive and operationally unforgiving.
Quant-style “analysis” also leaned on momentum, not valuation
On the same date, Nasdaq published a factor-based note (from Validea) indicating ASTS scored highest within their tracked strategies under a quantitative momentum framework—essentially a confirmation that the stock’s intermediate-term relative performance has been strong, even if valuation debates remain unresolved. [15]
A quieter—but important—thing investors keep watching: insider and major-holder sales
Today’s move was driven by the launch catalyst, but traders have also been tracking recent Form 4 filings.
Two notable December sales disclosed in SEC filings:
- American Tower Corp /MA/ (a major holder via a subsidiary) reported selling 2,288,621 Class A shares on Dec. 9, 2025 at $69.75, described in the filing as sold via a block trade with Barclays Capital Inc. [16]
- AST SpaceMobile COO Shanti Gupta reported selling 10,000 shares on Dec. 10, 2025 at $77.34. [17]
Also earlier this month, AST’s CTO Huiwen Yao disclosed a sale under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on June 12, 2025, per the SEC filing. [18]
None of these filings automatically mean “bad news”—insiders sell for many reasons. But in a high-momentum stock, investors tend to treat insider selling as a sentiment signal, especially around major catalysts.
What investors will watch next after BlueBird 6
The launch is the starting gun, not the finish line. The next set of stock-moving catalysts is likely to center on execution proof, not promises:
- On-orbit deployment and performance confirmation: antenna deployment, link stability, and real-world throughput that matches (or credibly supports) the “up to 120 Mbps” design target. [19]
- Launch cadence credibility: AST’s stated path to 45–60 satellites by end of 2026 implies a manufacturing + launch rhythm that leaves little room for delays. [20]
- Commercial rollout specifics: where service turns on first, what “intermittent” vs. “continuous” coverage looks like, and how revenue ramps against ongoing build-out costs.
- Regulatory and partner execution: direct-to-device satellite service lives at the intersection of spectrum rights, national regulators, and mobile network operator integration—fast-moving, and rarely smooth.
Bottom line: Dec. 24 was a technical win—and a market reality check
BlueBird 6 reaching orbit is a genuine milestone for AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-smartphone vision. [21]
The stock’s sharp decline on the same day is the market’s way of saying: milestones are necessary, but scaling is the real test—and expectations are already priced aggressively after a huge 2025 run. [22]
For ASTS investors heading into 2026, the story likely becomes less about “Can they launch?” and more about “Can they execute repeatedly—on schedule, at scale, and without breaking the balance sheet?”
References
1. www.businesswire.com, 2. www.businesswire.com, 3. www.businesswire.com, 4. www.space.com, 5. www.nasdaq.com, 6. apnews.com, 7. www.investors.com, 8. www.schaeffersresearch.com, 9. www.tipranks.com, 10. www.businesswire.com, 11. www.bloomberg.com, 12. www.investing.com, 13. stockanalysis.com, 14. www.marketbeat.com, 15. www.nasdaq.com, 16. www.sec.gov, 17. www.sec.gov, 18. www.sec.gov, 19. www.businesswire.com, 20. www.businesswire.com, 21. www.businesswire.com, 22. www.investors.com
