AST SpaceMobile and Stable Road Are 2 High Priority Space Names to Watch

While AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) isn't a direct competitor to Virgin Galactic (SPCE) , the move in SPCE today is spreading the love a bit. ASTS is up nearly 7%, while Stable Road Acquisition (SRAC) is up almost 8%. I was more focused on the post SPAC name of ASTS than one like SRAC still waiting to close the deal. Don't get me wrong, I like SRAC/Momentum and as I looked at the chart, I think a trader can play either of these names.

Ironically, we find very different price patterns for two names trading in a sector that doesn't have a lot of variety in terms of pure exposure.

ASTS is breaking higher out of a bullish wedge formed in the shadow of that earlier huge June candle. Shares bounced off the 21-day simple moving average (SMA) a few days ago. We have a bullish cross in the MACD and parabolic stop-and-reverse (PSAR), although the Full Stochastic indicator is a bearish divergence so not everything is clean here. The long wick on today's candle is also something to consider for bulls. It's not the stuff of dreams.

Still, there's enough momentum pockets in this market that keeps me interested. Moves are very focused and pushed very hard when a stock or sector is "found." I think with a weekend of chatter, we'll see the space names start to move next week with ASTS being one of them.

A second to consider here is Stable Road Acquisition. The big push today is a continuation higher out of the recent consolidation. Unlike ASTS, Stable Road has all the secondary indicators that favor buyers. That being said, it is still a SPAC that hasn't closed its merger, so buyers might be fighting arbs. In the past, that has led to squeezes but as of late, buyers have been unable to mount too many squeezes like we watched in 2020. 

The June highs will likely act as resistance. The folks that bought those $13 plus levels, then immediately saw the stock fall over the next two weeks, may be looking to get their money back out of the position for breakeven if they've held through the drawdown.

My preference is to mark these as high priority watch names for Monday. If the momentum comes back in early, then I'll jump on them. Until that time, I'm taking a small stock position in ASTS over the weekend on the off chance we gap higher Monday.

At the time of publication, Timothy Collins was Long ASTS.