AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS Shares Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 29.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 35,550 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,050 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $2,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 13.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,919,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351,539 shares during the period. Clear Street Group Inc. acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the third quarter worth $90,129,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 125.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 782,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,382,000 after acquiring an additional 434,615 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 610.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 475,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,222,000 after acquiring an additional 408,595 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 2,126.2% during the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 379,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,611,000 after acquiring an additional 362,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 11.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTS opened at $83.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 16.27, a current ratio of 18.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.47 and a 52-week high of $129.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.95. The company has a market capitalization of $31.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.63 and a beta of 2.60.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The company had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company’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 directly owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.22, for a total value of $116,397,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,980,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,412,448,964.10. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,095,000 shares of company stock worth $275,597,100 over the last three months. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile welcomed the announcement that AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are forming a satellite-to-phone joint venture to improve coverage in dead zones. Investors see this as validation of ASTS’s direct-to-device satellite connectivity market and a potential boost to future demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research launched coverage of the space economy and included AST SpaceMobile among the stocks it is tracking, which can draw more investor attention to the name and support trading interest. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ views remain mixed, but one new report says consensus has turned to “Reduce,” reflecting caution after ASTS’s recent earnings miss and ongoing execution concerns. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares at $76.34, a move that may be viewed as insider selling and could weigh on sentiment despite the remaining stake. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Post-earnings commentary continues to highlight a Q1 miss, darker consensus forecasts, and execution/competition risks, which reinforces concerns about AST SpaceMobile’s near-term fundamentals. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ASTS. Wall Street Zen lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $79.45.

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.