19% Stock Drop on Capital Raise Announcement

• AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) dropped 18.94% this week after announcing a $1B convertible notes offering at 2.25% interest.

• AST SpaceMobile will use the $983.7M in proceeds for spectrum deployment while refinancing $300M in existing higher-cost debt.

• American Tower disposed of $159.7M in ASTS shares in December. ASTS holds a $30.6B market cap on $18.5M in revenue.

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AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) dropped 19% this week, falling from $101.79 to $82.51 as the space-based cellular broadband company executed a complex capital raise strategy. While the broader market dipped just 1.29% over the same period, ASTS investors faced three major storylines that reshaped the company’s financial structure.

Despite this week’s decline, ASTS holds a 13.6% gain year-to-date and remains up 175% over the past year. The stock hit a 52-week high of $129.89 before this week’s pullback, reflecting the volatility of pre-revenue space infrastructure plays. The company’s $30.6 billion market cap sits on just $18.5 million in trailing twelve-month revenue, pricing in massive expectations for the satellite deployment campaign ahead.

On February 12, ASTS announced a $1 billion convertible senior notes offering due 2036 at 2.25% interest. The company expects net proceeds of approximately $983.7 million to fund three strategic priorities: accelerating spectrum deployment, monetizing AI-related technology, and enhancing government space investments. This represents significant capital for a company that burned through $94.4 million in Q3 2025 operating expenses alone.

Reddit’s r/wallstreetbets generated 855 upvotes and 254 comments as traders processed the dilution implications. Sentiment scores plunged to 32 (bearish) in the early morning hours of February 12 before stabilizing to neutral territory later that day.

Concurrent with the new notes offering, ASTS announced plans to repurchase up to $300 million of existing convertible senior notes, targeting its 4.25% notes due 2032 and 2.375% notes due 2032. This debt restructuring refinances higher-cost obligations with the new 2.25% notes, reducing interest expense while extending maturity dates.

Wall Street analysts hold a cautious stance on ASTS, with three Buy ratings, five Hold ratings, and two Strong Sell ratings. The consensus target price of $81.64 sits just below the current trading level, suggesting limited near-term upside despite ambitious satellite deployment plans.

American Tower Corp (NYSE: AMT), a 10% owner, disposed of 2.29 million shares on December 9, 2025 at $69.75, representing approximately $159.7 million in selling pressure. While this transaction occurred in early December, it established a pattern of institutional profit-taking that likely influenced sentiment heading into this week’s capital raise announcements.

Overall, Nasdaq records show 8 open market buys and 23 sells total across the past year. The most recent activity was buys by Director Keith Larson that were on an automated schedule.

Overall, the company’s path forward hinges on executing its satellite launch campaign targeting 45-60 satellites by end of 2026 and converting over $1 billion in contracted revenue commitments into actual cash flow. With $1.2 billion in cash as of September 30, 2025, ASTS now has the capital cushion to fund operations through the critical deployment phase.

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