Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $218.35 Million Stock Holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Janus Henderson Group PLC lowered its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,634,803 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,264 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.69% of AST SpaceMobile worth $218,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 79.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 223,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,543,000 after buying an additional 99,236 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 251.7% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 261,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,685,000 after acquiring an additional 54,887 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in AST SpaceMobile by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 326,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,022,000 after acquiring an additional 29,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter valued at $621,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AST SpaceMobile news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total transaction of $3,854,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. The trade was a 53.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 105,809 shares of company stock worth $9,748,492. Company insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 10.2%

NASDAQ:ASTS opened at $58.44 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.08 and a 12-month high of $133.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.83 and a beta of 2.69.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $14.73 million for 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 quarter last year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Key AST SpaceMobile News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank upgraded AST SpaceMobile from “sector underperform” to “sector perform,” citing the company’s strategic partnerships and upcoming satellite launches as potential growth catalysts. However, its $50.80 price target remains below the recently cited share price, indicating limited near-term upside in the analyst’s view. ASTS Stock’s Valuation Is Now In a Grey Area
• Positive Sentiment: Renewed confidence from Elon Musk in lunar and Mars missions helped lift sentiment across space-related stocks. Although the commentary was not specific to ASTS, broader sector momentum could improve investor interest in satellite and launch companies. SPCX, ASTS, RKLB Find a Floor After Brutal July
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages collectively give AST SpaceMobile an average “hold” recommendation, reflecting uncertainty over valuation, execution, launch timing and the company’s ability to scale its satellite-to-phone network. AST SpaceMobile Given Average Recommendation of Hold
• Neutral Sentiment: One valuation review described ASTS as being in a “grey area” after its substantial decline since January. While some retail investors consider the stock significantly undervalued, the debate highlights continued uncertainty about its growth prospects and fair value. A Look at AST SpaceMobile After a 6.2% Decline
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s planned satellite constellation increases competitive pressure on SpaceX and AST SpaceMobile. A larger rival ecosystem could raise customer-acquisition costs and contribute to margin-compression risks for ASTS. Amazon’s Satellite Push Raises the Stakes
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of ASTS investors. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but securities-law investigations can create legal uncertainty and weigh on investor confidence. Pomerantz Law Firm Investor Alert

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ASTS. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. New Street Research set a $106.00 price target on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.60.

AST SpaceMobile 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.