Latest news with #defenseTechnology
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why AST SpaceMobile Stock Jumped This Week
Stocks rose this week as hopes for interest-rate cuts rose and military actions in the Middle East de-escalated. AST SpaceMobile's valuation also benefited from rising excitement surrounding defense applications in the space industry. AST announced new financing moves, and Bank of America initiated coverage on the stock. 10 stocks we like better than AST SpaceMobile › AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) stock closed out last week's trading with another run of substantial gains. The company's share price ended this Friday's session up 7.4% from the previous week's closing price. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index rose 3.4% over the stretch. The broader market saw strong bullish momentum this week as key geopolitical risk factors appeared to moderate and investors bet on an increased likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month. Excitement surrounding defense applications for space-industry companies also helped push AST shares higher. The S&P 500 rose this week and set a fresh record on Friday as the ceasefire between Israel and Iran held and Federal Reserve officials made comments suggesting that the central bank could cut interest rates next month. Investors also poured into defense technology stocks, and AST had some notable news to share on that front. AST announced, in collaboration with Fairwinds Technologies, this week that it had successfully demonstrated the first non-terrestrial network (NTN) tactical satellite communications capable of serving up high-throughput data transmissions for standard mobile devices. The test highlighted the network's capabilities in defense-related scenarios. At one point, AST stock was up 16.1% from the previous week's close, but shares pulled back due to valuation concerns and financing announcements from the company. On Wednesday, AST SpaceMobile announced that it had entered into an agreement to repurchase $225 million in 4.25% convertible debt notes set to mature in 2032. The company also said it would issue approximately 1.04 million incremental shares in correlation with the convertible notes it was buying back. As part of the deal, the company is also moving to sell 9.45 million shares of new stock, priced at $53.22 per share, in a direct offering to the holders of the convertible notes. The deal will remove $225 million in debt from the company's balance sheet and cut the need to make $63.8 million in remaining interest payments. Bank of America also initiated coverage on AST on Wednesday and assigned a neutral rating and a one-year price target of $55 per share on the stock. As of this writing, the firm's price target implies additional upside of roughly 11%. Bank of America's analysts see promise and large-market potential for AST's BlueBird satellite constellation, but they raised concerns about the outlook for the business's sales ramp. With the company trading at roughly 191 times this year's expected sales, some strong growth is already priced in. Before you buy stock in AST SpaceMobile, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and AST SpaceMobile wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $713,547!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $966,931!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,062% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 177% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why AST SpaceMobile Stock Jumped This Week was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
18-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Star Capital Weighs IPO of Defense Tech Firm Vincorion
Star Capital is considering an initial public offering of German defense technology firm Vincorion, people familiar with the matter said, as rising investor interest lifts the value in European aerospace and defense assets. The private equity firm has held initial discussions with potential advisers about a listing, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn't public. A deal could value the defense tech firm at as much as €1 billion ($1.2 billion), the people said.
Globe and Mail
14-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Drone Stock AIRO Group (AIRO) Skyrockets 128% in Market Debut
The stock of AIRO Group (AIRO) is up 128% after the drone maker made its market debut on the Nasdaq Composite (NDAQ) exchange in New York. Confident Investing Starts Here: AIRO Group is the latest defense-technology company to go public, and the company picked a good day to hold its initial public offering (IPO) with Israel and Iran firing missiles and drones at each other in an escalating military confrontation. Based in Chicago, AIRO Group sold six million shares at $10 each as part of its IPO, giving the company an initial market value of $260 million and making it a micro-cap stock defined as any security with a market capitalization of less than $1 billion. However, the shares rose as high as $22.83 at noon hour on June 13, skyrocketing 128% above the IPO price and lifting AIRO's market cap to $600 million. Good Timing AIRO Group makes both commercial and military drones, as well as robotics and avionics systems. The company's sales in 2024 totaled $87 million, a small amount but double the amount achieved in 2023. The company competes against other defense-technology companies such as AeroVironment (AVAV) and Kratos Space & Security Solutions (KTOS). While AIRO Group claims to have a diverse business, most of the company's revenue comes from its drone business. The company's AI-enabled Sky Watch drones are its most popular product and largely used for surveillance. Management at AIRO has said that they plan to use the money raised from the IPO to acquire additional drone technologies. AIRO Group held its IPO on a day when stocks of U.S. defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin (LMT) and RTX Corp. (RTX) are up about 5% each as military tensions in the Middle East escalate. Is AVAV Stock a Buy? It's too early for Wall Street to have ratings and price targets on AIRO Group stock. So instead we'll look at rival AeroVironment. The stock of AeroVironment has a consensus Strong Buy rating among six Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on six Buy recommendations issued in the last three months. The average AVAV price target of $203 implies 3.68% upside from current levels. Disclaimer & Disclosure Report an Issue
Washington Post
18-05-2025
- Science
- Washington Post
Congo's coltan miners dig for world's tech — and struggle regardless of who is in charge
RUBAYA, Congo — Nestled in the green hills of Masisi territory in Congo , the artisanal Rubaya mining site hums with the sound of generators, as hundreds of men labor by hand to extract coltan, a key mineral crucial for producing modern electronics and defense technology — and fiercely sought after worldwide.
