ASTS surged 10.2% to $80.06 in the first trading session of 2026, topping Reddit engagement charts.
Retail investors on r/stocks celebrated the move, with one top post hitting 171 upvotes and 59 comments.
A $6.9 billion Pentagon commitment to hypersonics and space budgets of $40 billion provided a macro tailwind for space-related names.
The new year opened with a green wave, and no stock rode it higher in retail-investor conversation than ![]()
Why Reddit Is Bullish on ASTS
The dominant sentiment on r/stocks was overwhelmingly positive, with a bullish tilt of 0.52. One investor posted that his screen was "Too Green" to look away, calling ![]()
The community's optimism was anchored by the December deployment of BlueBird 6, the latest satellite in AST SpaceMobile's direct-to-device constellation. Several commenters characterized 2026 as a potential inflection point, shifting space stocks from the "speculative" bucket to "critical infrastructure."
The Broader Context: Defense and Space Spending
On the same day, a GlobeNewswire article highlighted the Pentagon's $6.9 billion commitment to hypersonic weapons and a Space Force budget approaching $40 billion. The report noted that the hypersonic technology market is projected to reach $8.46 billion in 2025 as the U.S. races to maintain technological parity with Russia and China.
While AST SpaceMobile is primarily a commercial satellite communications company, the broader defense spending narrative helped create a "space trade" tailwind that lifted multiple names. Reddit users connected these dots, with some speculating that the coming SpaceX IPO — targeting a potential $1.5 trillion valuation — would further validate the sector.
Key Metrics at a Glance
According to Tendie.bot's engagement data, ![]()
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