Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS) were down during Friday's premarket session, which is an interesting time for the stock to dip. The company just announced that its next big satellite is literally heading to space this weekend.

Saturday Morning Rocket Ride

On Thursday, the company said its BlueBird 7 satellite is scheduled to launch April 19 from Cape Canaveral aboard Blue Origin's New Glenn-3 mission. The launch window is 6:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. EDT, so if you're an early riser on the East Coast, you might catch it.

BlueBird 7 isn't just another satellite—it's part of the company's next-generation fleet designed to do something pretty clever: deliver direct-to-device cellular broadband to regular, unmodified smartphones. Think about that for a second. You're hiking in the middle of nowhere, no cell towers in sight, but your phone still has service because it's connecting to a satellite in low Earth orbit. That's the vision, and BlueBird 7 is supposed to deliver peak speeds above 120 Mbps with its 2,400-square-foot phased-array antenna to support 4G and 5G voice, data, and video services.

"Every launch brings us closer to fulfilling our mission: connecting billions of people through space-based cellular broadband," said President Scott Wisniewski. It's one of those quotes that sounds both ambitious and completely reasonable when you're talking about beaming internet from space.

If you're a qualified retail shareholder, you can actually apply to attend the launch event. Registration closes today, April 17, with limited spots available. So if you've ever wanted to watch a rocket launch while thinking about your portfolio, this might be your chance.

The Partner Network

Here's where it gets interesting from a business perspective. AST SpaceMobile isn't trying to build its own cellular network from scratch. Instead, it's partnering with existing mobile operators. The company has agreements with more than 50 mobile network operators, covering nearly 3 billion subscribers. That's a lot of potential customers who might one day get satellite service through their regular carrier.

Their partnership list reads like a who's who of telecom: AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), Vodafone Group Plc (VOD), Rakuten Group Inc., Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), American Tower Corporation (AMT), BCE Inc. (BCE), and Saudi Telecom Company. When you have AT&T and Verizon on your partner list, you're playing in the big leagues.

What the Charts Say

Now, about that stock price movement. AST SpaceMobile is currently trading 1.5% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 0.5% above its 50-day SMA, which suggests a short-term bullish trend. But it's trading 4.2% above its 100-day SMA, indicating stronger intermediate-term momentum.

The relative strength index (RSI) is at 49.44, which is about as neutral as you can get—neither overbought nor oversold, just balanced buying and selling pressure. The stock has shown a remarkable 288.80% return over the past 12 months, which is the kind of number that makes people pay attention.

But here are the levels traders are watching:

• Key Resistance: $97.50 — A significant level where price rallies have previously stalled.
• Key Support: $84.00 — A level where buying interest has historically emerged.

So the stock is sitting around $90 (it was at $90.18 in premarket), which puts it roughly halfway between those two important levels.

Sector Context

AST SpaceMobile is currently underperforming within the Communication Services sector, which is ranked 10 out of 11 sectors. The sector has gained 4.55% over the past 30 days, indicating a generally positive trend, while ASTS's recent price action suggests it's lagging behind its peers. Sometimes even when your sector is doing well, your particular stock decides to take a breather.

Earnings and What Analysts Think

The next major catalyst for the stock arrives with the May 11, 2026 (estimated) earnings report. Here's what analysts are expecting:

• EPS Estimate: Loss of 21 cents (Down from Loss of 20 cents)
• Revenue Estimate: $37.24 million (Up from 72 cents million)

That revenue estimate jump is worth noting—from 72 cents million to $37.24 million. That's the kind of growth trajectory that gets investors excited about space-based internet companies.

The stock carries a Hold Rating with an average price target of $75.52. Recent analyst moves include:

• Barclays: Underweight (Raises Target to $65.00) (April 9)
• UBS: Neutral (Raises Target to $85.00) (March 4)
• B. Riley Securities: Neutral (Lowers Target to $95.00) (February 13)

So you've got analysts raising targets, lowering targets, and generally agreeing that the stock is probably fairly valued where it is. The $75.52 average target suggests some downside from current levels, but analyst targets are more like suggestions than predictions.

ETF Exposure

If you're wondering why a space internet company might show up in your portfolio without you buying it directly, here's why: ASTS has significant weight in several ETFs:

• First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (MISL): 4.08% Weight
• First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (FPX): 3.11% Weight
• Defiance Connective Technologies ETF (SIXG): 3.36% Weight

Here's why that matters: because ASTS carries significant weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock. When people buy the ETF, the fund has to buy more ASTS. When they sell, the fund sells ASTS. It's a mechanical relationship that can move the stock price without anyone making a specific decision about AST SpaceMobile itself.

ASTS Price Action: AST SpaceMobile shares were down 0.84% at $90.18 during premarket trading on Friday, according to market data.