Why AST SpaceMobile Stock Popped, Then Dropped

Yesterday's stock market sell-off hurt a lot of stocks, but AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) wasn't one of them. Defying the market rout, shares of the start-up space company promising satellite internet to any off-the-shelf cellphone all 'round the world rose 0.4% Monday -- after announcing some positive FCC news. AST shares seemed likely to continue rising today, gaining nearly 5% in early trading.

But then AST stock gave it all back.

As of 11:55 a.m. EDT, AST stock is down 0.4% Tuesday. In fact, it's sitting right back where it was at the end of last week. The questions for investors today are:

Source Fool.com