Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 22.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 335,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 97,674 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $24,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vodafone Ventures Ltd bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth $397,413,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at about $198,270,000. Clear Street Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter worth about $90,129,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,687,000 after buying an additional 1,568,292 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,569,000 after buying an additional 1,425,199 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,865.26. This trade represents a 25.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total value of $154,499,800.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 29,330,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,681,362,770.10. This represents a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 3,145,809 shares of company stock worth $280,645,292 over the last 90 days. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 6.7%

NASDAQ:ASTS opened at $68.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $87.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.31. The stock has a market cap of $26.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.21 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a current ratio of 18.47, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.08 and a 12 month high of $133.86.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.AST SpaceMobile’s quarterly revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

More AST SpaceMobile News

Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile’s planned joint venture with Rakuten in Japan could open a major new market and accelerate commercialization of its satellite-to-phone service. Market Chatter: AST SpaceMobile, Rakuten to Form Direct-to-Mobile Communications JV in Japan
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced BlueBirds 11, 12, and 13 are targeted for an August launch, reinforcing the timeline for network expansion and near-term operational progress. AST SpaceMobile Announces BlueBirds 11, 12, and 13 Orbital Launch in the First Half of August
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary around SpaceX’s sell-off and sector rotation is being framed by some investors as a valuation opportunity for ASTS, since it is seen as a pure-play space connectivity name with upcoming catalysts. The SpaceX Sell-Off May Be More Than a Market Overreaction

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $85.09.

About AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile is a U.S.-based aerospace company developing a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect standard mobile phones and other devices directly to satellites. The company’s core proposition is “space-to-cell” service: operating a constellation of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites equipped with large, high-power phased-array antennas to provide wide-area mobile broadband without requiring users to buy specialized terminals or handset modifications.

AST SpaceMobile designs, builds and operates satellite payloads and supporting ground infrastructure.