AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS) shares are on track for their first weekly gain in three weeks, fueled by bullish comments from AT&T about the companies’ joint satellite initiative.
ASTS stock dropped 2% on Wednesday to $61.95 but recovered much of that loss in overnight trading, leaving shares up roughly 7% for the week.
A significant portion of those weekly gains arrived on Tuesday after Midland officials approved a deal offering AST SpaceMobile up to $66 million in performance-based incentives tied to a major manufacturing expansion.
AT&T CEO John Stankey addressed the partnership on the company’s second-quarter earnings call, signaling that a customer-ready product is approaching.
“The work that we’re doing through the combination of the JV and all the technical work we’ve been doing up to this point in time, for example, with one of the partners we’re working with, AST SpaceMobile, those are all going to come to fruition as we move into next year,” Stankey said.
The two companies have worked together since around 2018 and signed a definitive commercial agreement in May 2024 covering satellite-based voice, text, and data services through 2030.
The planned service would allow standard, unmodified smartphones to connect directly to satellites when users move outside terrestrial cellular coverage, requiring no special phones, apps, or hardware.
Stankey described the offering as “a very intuitive product that doesn’t require the customer to do anything differently,” adding that existing devices would work seamlessly across coverage zones.
“If they walk off the network, they’re not going to walk off the network,” Stankey said. “We’re going to provide them a seamless transition into coverage via satellite on a directed device basis.”
AT&T already handles more than 98% of a converged customer’s internet traffic, and Stankey said the satellite layer is designed to close the remaining 2% gap, including for FirstNet users and first responders operating in remote areas.
Stankey also confirmed the rollout is not contingent on next-generation smartphones or chipset advances, saying, “We sit here today with everything we need to put the best product in the market.”
AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird satellites are designed to function as cell towers in space, connecting directly to ordinary smartphones through cellular spectrum supplied by partners including AT&T.
The company previously completed a two-way voice call through its BlueWalker 3 test satellite in April 2023 and launched its first five commercial BlueBird satellites in September 2024.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for ASTS slipped to “neutral” from “bullish” levels a day earlier, coinciding with a 31% decline in 24-hour message volumes.
One bullish user posted, “$ASTS We haven’t had two green days in a row since June. RSI is over sold and one of the most shorted stocks on the market… This is starting to set up for a squeeze.”
Another user added, “$ASTS Looking like under $70 is a gift today!!!”
Despite the mid-week dip, ASTS stock has climbed 9% over the past year as the company advances its commercial satellite network.
