New York, January 30, 2026, 15:09 EST — Regular session
- AST SpaceMobile shares dropped roughly 8.7% to $111.50, having swung from a 6% gain to an 11% loss earlier.
- In an amended Schedule 13G filing, The Vanguard Group revealed it held a 7.68% stake as of Dec. 31
- Investors have their eyes on a late-February BlueBird 7 launch aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn-3 mission
AST SpaceMobile shares dropped roughly 8.7% to $111.50 in afternoon trading Friday, after kicking off the session at $121.10. The stock saw wild swings, hitting a high of $129.74 and plunging to a low of $109.04, as over 16 million shares traded hands.
The pullback follows a sharp surge that turned the Nasdaq-listed stock into a trader favorite. The company is developing a space-based cellular broadband network aimed at linking straight to regular mobile phones. Reuters data reveals it pulled in $4.4 million in revenue this year but recorded a net loss near $300 million.
Vanguard disclosed in a regulatory filing on Friday that it owned 21,488,180 shares of AST SpaceMobile as of Dec. 31, amounting to 7.68% of the company’s common stock. This update appeared in an amended Schedule 13G, a form used by major investors to report holdings once they exceed 5%. Vanguard clarified the stake was held in the ordinary course of business and not intended to influence control.
In another filing on Jan. 28, UBS revealed a $1.55 million issuance of “trigger autocallable” notes tied to AST SpaceMobile shares, maturing in 2029. These bank-backed notes are structured debt designed to pay coupons if the stock remains above specified thresholds and may be called early under certain triggers, the pricing supplement showed.
Neither filing points to a new equity raise by AST SpaceMobile, but both add to the growing paper trail on a stock known for wild gap moves and heavy derivatives activity. For many investors, the pressing question remains: can the company meet its milestones to transform a satellite plan into a revenue-generating service.
AST SpaceMobile has set its sights on the next orbital milestone: BlueBird 7, slated for late February from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn-3 rocket, a Jan. 22 press release via Business Wire revealed. “This launch advances our mission to bring space-based cellular broadband connectivity to everyday smartphones as we progress towards launching commercial services in 2026,” said Scott Wisniewski, the company’s president. He noted the schedule could still shift. Business Wire
The downside remains clear-cut. A delay in the launch window, weaker-than-anticipated commercial uptake, or fresh funding demands could shake risk appetite once more, especially following a recent period of sharp swings.
Traders will be keeping an eye on whether the stock stabilizes following Friday’s volatility and if new regulatory filings reveal more about recent ownership changes. The next major event to watch is the BlueBird 7 launch window on New Glenn-3, scheduled for late February.
