AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 14.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,316,852 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 164,303 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.34% of AST SpaceMobile worth $109,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,687,000 after buying an additional 1,568,292 shares during the period. Vodafone Ventures Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth $397,413,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425,199 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,522,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,749,000 after purchasing an additional 402,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,951,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,011,000 after purchasing an additional 350,690 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total transaction of $4,297,342.29. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 503,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,244,498.39. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. The trade was a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 105,809 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,492. Corporate insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ASTS. Barclays lifted their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. New Street Research set a $106.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.95.

Trending Headlines about AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators remained constructive, with reports calling AST SpaceMobile a buy and arguing that recent pullbacks may be an opportunity rather than a sign of weakening demand for direct-to-device satellite service. AST SpaceMobile is a buy, this analyst says
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T said AST SpaceMobile’s satellite offering is expected to “come to fruition” next year, reinforcing the long-term commercial case for the network and supporting the view that the service could fill remaining coverage gaps. ASTS Stock Eyes Weekly Comeback: AT&T Says AST SpaceMobile Satellite Offering Will ‘Come To Fruition’ Next Year
• Positive Sentiment: CEO commentary that BlueBird satellites 8, 9, and 10 are fully deployed, with more satellites already at Cape Canaveral, suggested continued progress on constellation buildout and launch cadence. ASTS Stock Rises Overnight: CEO Says BlueBirds 8, 9 And 10 Are Fully Deployed — With 3 More Satellites Already At Cape
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary focused on the stock’s valuation upside and downside scenarios, highlighting a wide range of outcomes as investors reassess execution and growth potential. AST SpaceMobile ASTS stock: $108 bull case vs $41 bear case
• Neutral Sentiment: Market discussion also centered on whether AST SpaceMobile could use its $1 billion note offering to buy a launch provider, which could lower long-term launch costs and reduce dependence on SpaceX and Blue Origin if pursued. Is Buying a Launch Company AST SpaceMobile’s Next Vertical Integration Move?
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm investigation into possible investor claims added legal overhang and may have contributed to risk-off trading in the shares. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. – ASTS
• Negative Sentiment: Recent weakness also reflected concerns around launch disruptions and the need for substantial new debt financing, which raised questions about execution risk and dilution/leveraging implications even as the company works to expand its satellite network. Why a Billion Dollars in New Debt Just Sent ASTS Flying

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 4.5%

ASTS stock opened at $59.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.25 and a beta of 2.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 18.47 and a quick ratio of 18.37. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.08 and a 12 month high of $133.86.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The business’s revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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.