Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. ( ASTI ) shares are trading higher Friday after the company announced it has paid off outstanding balances on a securities purchase contract. 

The Details:

The company provided a corporate update on the securities purchase contract with an institutional investor previously disclosed on Dec. 19, 2022, pursuant to which the company issued $12.5 million in convertible advance notes and an additional $2.5 million in convertible advance notes in a concurrent private placement transaction.

Ascent Solar ( ASTI ) said it has paid the remaining institutional investor’s notes payable and related liabilities and no further obligations exist under the securities purchase contract.

Ascent Solar ( ASTI ) shares are moving on heavy trading volume following the announcement. According to data from Benzinga Pro, more than 72 million shares have been traded before the opening bell in Friday's session.

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How To Buy ASTI Stock:

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Ascent Solar Technologies ( ASTI ) – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy ‘fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock, like Berkshire Hathaway, or Amazon.com, can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to ‘go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

ASTI Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, Ascent Solar Technologies ( ASTI ) shares are up 8.5% at 11 cents at the time of publication Friday.

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