Deutsche Bank upgrades AST SpaceMobile stock to Buy

what happened

Dow Jones Newswires, citing Barron’s, reports that Deutsche Bank analyst Bryan Kraft upgraded AST SpaceMobile from Hold to Buy while keeping his price target at $93. The shares were up 3.9% at $52.94 in premarket trading. S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were gaining 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

AST shares traded above $130 in May, before SpaceX’s June IPO, but many space-related stocks declined after the listing. AST also faced pressure from a failed Blue Origin launch that delayed the construction of its satellite constellation. The stock dropped 10.5% on Friday after SpaceX announced plans to acquire additional wireless spectrum.

Kraft described Friday’s move as misguided, arguing that the 800 MHz spectrum SpaceX plans to acquire does not make the company more competitive with AST as a mobile-network partner for space-to-device services. He said SpaceX is expected to use the spectrum mainly for direct-to-consumer offerings. In Kraft’s view, the deal could push T-Mobile closer to AST. T-Mobile currently uses SpaceX for space-to-cell connectivity.

Following the upgrade, 44% of analysts covering AST rate the shares Buy, according to FactSet. The typical Buy-rating share for S&P 500 stocks is 55% to 60%, while the average analyst price target for AST is about $83.

why it matters

The development highlights a growing competitive question for telecom and satellite companies: whether mobile operators will partner with AST or rely more heavily on SpaceX’s connectivity offering. Spectrum ownership may shape how investors assess both businesses.

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