KBC Group NV Purchases 16,918 Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

KBC Group NV grew its position in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 259.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,438 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,918 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $1,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vodafone Ventures Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $397,413,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $198,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,292 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 8,016.7% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,269,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total transaction of $1,145,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total value of $3,854,800.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 34,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. This trade represents a 53.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 105,809 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,492 in the last ninety days. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASTS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley Financial upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Barclays upped their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. New Street Research set a $106.00 price objective on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.95.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 5.0%

ASTS opened at $56.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.57 and a beta of 2.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $84.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.58. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.08 and a twelve month high of $133.86. The company has a quick ratio of 18.37, a current ratio of 18.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last issued its 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). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The company had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

AST SpaceMobile News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators continue to argue that the recent pullback is a buying opportunity, saying AST SpaceMobile’s long-term direct-to-device satellite connectivity story remains intact and that launch-vehicle issues, not lost demand, are behind recent volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: There is speculation that the new $1 billion note proceeds could support a launch-provider acquisition, which may help AST SpaceMobile reduce long-term reliance on SpaceX and Blue Origin and improve vertical integration. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change in available figures, so it does not appear to be a major fresh driver for the stock today.
• Negative Sentiment: The $1 billion convertible note deal is the clearest near-term negative, as investors may view it as a potential source of future share dilution and added balance-sheet complexity. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm investigation into claims on behalf of ASTS investors adds legal uncertainty and can weigh on sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares have also been under pressure from a broader risk-off move in launch and space-related stocks, reflecting investor caution ahead of a key test flight and ongoing volatility in the sector.

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.