ASTS Short Interest Drops Below 20% Ahead Of BlueBird Launch – Retail Mood Brightens

ASTS short interest has dropped to about 19.9% of the public float, down from 21.7% last week.

• AST SpaceMobile is scheduled to launch its BlueBird satellites from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
• The latest satellites feature AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation stackable design and lightweight carbon-composite structures
• Meta hosted AST SpaceMobile for a technical workshop focused on bringing WhatsApp connectivity to its satellite network.

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) remained in the limelight ahead of its next BlueBird satellite launch on Wednesday, as bearish bets eased with short interest falling below 20% for the first time since June.

ASTS has been among the most shorted space stocks lately, along with Intuitive Machines (LUNR) and Virgin Galactic (SPCE).

Koyfin data shows that more than 59.3 million ASTS shares, or about 19.9% of the public float, are currently held short. Although bearish bets have eased from 21.7% last week, short interest remains significantly higher than the 13% recorded at the beginning of 2026. The company has roughly 298.7 million outstanding shares.

Source: Koyfin<

ASTS stock was up more than 7% in pre-market trading on Tuesday.

ASTS Bulls See 100% Upside

Retail sentiment surrounding ASTS on Stocktwits turned ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ a day earlier, with investors seeing significant upside from current levels.

One user expects the stock to surge to $130 or higher over the “next 10-15 trading days.” This represents a near 100% increase from current levels.

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Another user said that the stock appears to have bottomed out and is now moving higher.

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All Eyes On BlueBird Launch

AST SpaceMobile is scheduled to launch its BlueBird 11, 12 and 13 satellites from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Wednesday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission follows the successful deployment of BlueBirds 8, 9 and 10 in June. The company has already begun preparing BlueBirds 14, 15 and 16 for a future launch, while production has progressed through satellite 42.

The latest satellites feature AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation stackable design and lightweight carbon-composite structures, allowing more satellites to be launched on a single mission.

They are designed to provide voice, data and video services directly to standard smartphones without requiring additional hardware. The company has agreements with nearly 60 mobile network operators serving more than 3 billion subscribers, including partnerships with AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Rakuten, Google, Bell, Telus, STC Group, and American Tower.

Commercial Tie-Ups To Drive Growth Prospects

Analysts remain optimistic that AST SpaceMobile could finally begin beta direct-to-device mobile broadband service in the U.S. with AT&T and Verizon before the end of 2026. AT&T CEO John Stankey recently said the partnership is moving closer to a customer-ready service.

Brokerages including Scotiabank and Clear Street have upgraded the stock in recent weeks, saying the recent share-price pullback reflected launch delays rather than weaker demand.

Separately, Meta’s global head of quality of experience, network AI strategy and satellite/space, Vinod Samarawickrama, disclosed on Monday that the company recently hosted AST SpaceMobile for a technical workshop focused on bringing WhatsApp connectivity to the company’s satellite network.

ASTS stock has declined nearly 24% so far this year.

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