NEW YORK (Reuters) – AST SpaceMobile shares jumped more than 50% on Wednesday and hit their highest level since November 2022 after the satellite communication company announced a new direct-to-cellular tie-up with Verizon Communications.
The stock has more than tripled since the start of May, and is now up about 35% for the year so far.
The two companies announced the partnership, which AST SpaceMobile said would allow it to target 100% coverage of the continental United States from space on premium 850 MHz cellular spectrum. Verizon is committing $100 million to the partnership.
Earlier this month, AST SpaceMobile and AT&T announced a deal to deliver space-based broadband network direct to cell phones.
Shares of AST SpaceMobile were last up 52% at $8.11 and hit a high for the session of $8.45. Shares of Verizon were last down 0.8%.
Trading volume in AST SpaceMobile also spiked, and was last at about three times the 10-day moving average volume, according to LSEG data.
The latest partnership deal “will enhance cellular connectivity in the United States, essentially eliminating dead zones and empowering remote areas of the country with space-based connectivity,” Abel Avellan, founder, chairman, and CEO of AST SpaceMobile, said in the announcement.
AST SpaceMobile has also received financial backing from AT&T as well as Alphabet-owned Google and from Vodafone Group this year.
(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
