AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS) shares plummeted 5.21% in pre-market trading on Monday, as the stock came under significant selling pressure.

The sharp decline was triggered by a double blow from a Wall Street analyst downgrade and ongoing concerns over a key launch partner's rocket failure. Deutsche Bank analyst Bryan Kraft downgraded AST SpaceMobile from "Buy" to "Hold" and slashed the price target from $117 to $106.

The downgrade was prompted by Blue Origin's "New Glenn" rocket exploding during a static fire test. Since Blue Origin is contracted to launch AST SpaceMobile's communication satellites, the incident raises fears of significant launch delays, impacting the company's ability to meet its deployment targets and dampening near-term investor sentiment.