AST SpaceMobile stock dives 10% as Scotiabank downgrade hits ASTS valuation

7 January 2026

New York, January 7, 2026, 13:29 EST — Regular session

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) shares fell 10.2% to $87.55 in regular trading on Wednesday after Scotiabank cut its rating. The stock has traded between $95.25 and $86.20 so far, with about 15 million shares changing hands.

Scotiabank analyst Andres Coello downgraded the stock to “Sell” and set a $45.60 price target, Barron’s reported. Coello flagged valuation, with the stock trading at more than 100 times projected 2026 sales and about 20 times estimated 2029 EBITDA, even as the company is not expected to post positive operating profits until 2027, the report said. Barron’s

The timing matters because AST’s rally has turned it into a litmus test for how much investors will pay for early-stage space and telecom bets that are heavy on capex and light on near-term earnings. When one broker starts calling time on the valuation, the stock’s momentum can crack fast.

AST is building a low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation designed to deliver cellular broadband directly to everyday smartphones — often called “direct-to-device,” because it aims to connect without a special satellite phone or dish. AST SpaceMobile

But Coello argued the path to scale is long and expensive, pointing to the lack of retail customers and the need to deploy roughly 50 satellites to offer continuous service in some markets by late 2026 or early 2027, Investing.com reported. He said the shares had pushed to “irrational levels,” and warned investors could be waiting until 2028 or 2029 for meaningful free cash flow. Investing.com

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Shan Ahmed Khan is a senior markets reporter at TS2.tech. His coverage ranges from stocks and technology to economic developments across global markets. He worked in investment research and market analysis before becoming a financial journalist and is a graduate of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

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