AST SpaceMobile: Brief High Altitude After FCC Licensing - Market Value Levels Out Again

Yesterday's market debacle hit many companies hard, but AST SpaceMobile managed to buck the trend. Shares of the up-and-coming space company, which promises satellite internet on standard mobile phones worldwide, rose 0.4% on Monday. This followed the announcement of positive news from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Early trading indicated that AST shares would rise further today, with gains of nearly 5%. However, the euphoria was short-lived: by 11:55 AM EDT, the shares had given up their gains and were down 0.4%—back to the level at the end of last week. Investors are now faced with an important question. The answer is relatively simple: The FCC has granted AST SpaceMobile an initial license to offer communications services in the U.S. from five commercial BlueBird satellites. The company described this as "a significant step" towards providing 100% nationwide mobile coverage from space. However, this step is only the beginning, as AST will need a total of about 20 satellites to cover the entire U.S. In the long term, the company plans to launch 168 satellites to ensure global coverage. The estimated costs for this amount to around $5 billion. This could become a problem because AST currently only has about $210 million in cash and $174 million in debt. U.S. telecom partners AT&T and Verizon have pledged to contribute several hundred million, but there remains a significant funding gap that AST must bridge. In summary, AST SpaceMobile received excellent news this week. They can begin offering mobile services from space and have a few satellites to start the work. However, success is not guaranteed. Investors should keep a close eye on AST's cash reserves, as the company's fate depends on whether it can raise the necessary funds. Before you invest in AST SpaceMobile, consider the following: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team has just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and AST SpaceMobile is not one of them. These ten selected stocks could generate enormous returns in the coming years. For example, Nvidia was added to this list on April 15, 2005... if you had invested $1,000 on their recommendation back then, you would now own $615,516!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-understand success guide, including portfolio-building recommendations, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock recommendations per month. Since 2002, the Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the S&P 500's returns*. Rich Smith does not hold a position in the mentioned stocks. The Motley Fool recommends Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.