** Shares of AST Spacemobile ASTS.O rise 4.5% to $82.79 after it announced a partnership with French telecommunications leader Orange ORAN.PA

** ASTS is on track for biggest daily pct gain since Feb. 6

** ASTS' tie-up with Orange and Satellite Connect Europe, a joint venture between AST and Vodafone VOD.L, aims to boost direct-to-cell connectivity

** Direct-to-device satellite services allow standard smartphones to connect to satellites without specialized hardware, which is particularly valuable in markets where terrestrial infrastructure remains patchy

** The partnership adds AST to Orange's growing roster of satellite providers that also include European Eutelsat ETL.PA and SES SESFg.LU, Elon Musk's Starlink and Canada's Telesat TSAT.TO, as the French telecom operator pursues a deliberate multi-vendor approach

** 12 analysts covering AST have an avg rating of "hold" and median PT is $85.44, per LSEG data

** AST is up 14.7% YTD vs NASDAQ Composite Index's .IXIC 2.3% decrease