Capital Wealth Planning LLC Boosts Stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 227.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 47,397 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,905 shares during the quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $3,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KPP Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,649,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 1,062.9% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 77,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,665,000 after buying an additional 71,287 shares in the last quarter. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,290,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 232,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,882,000 after purchasing an additional 48,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth $198,270,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total value of $154,499,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,330,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,681,362,770.10. The trade was a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.25, for a total value of $451,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 565,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,063,901.25. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,140,000 shares of company stock valued at $279,903,150. 20.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $117.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays upped their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $81.33.

Key Headlines Impacting AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile confirmed its June 17 launch for BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 satellites, a key step toward expanding its space-based cellular broadband network and advancing its 2026 deployment goals. AST SpaceMobile Announces Launch Date for BlueBird Satellites 8, 9, and 10
• Positive Sentiment: Speculation around a future SpaceX IPO is drawing more attention to space-related stocks, which could keep ASTS in focus as a “space winner” if investor enthusiasm for the sector builds. The SpaceX IPO Is Closer Than You Think. These Are the Stocks That Win When It Happens.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to frame AST SpaceMobile as a high-potential but still speculative connectivity play versus traditional carriers like Verizon, with valuation tied heavily to execution on launches and network expansion. VZ vs. ASTS: Which Connectivity Stock is the Better Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: The company has also been highlighted for its recent post-earnings share strength and the market’s focus on whether that momentum can continue after the latest results. AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Up 21.6% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term pressure is coming from volatility warnings, analyst downgrades, and heavy insider selling, including a recent CTO share sale, which may make investors more cautious after the stock’s sharp pullback from its recent highs. AST SpaceMobile’s SpaceX Catalyst Could Come With a Volatility Warning

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 1.6%

AST SpaceMobile stock opened at $87.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a current ratio of 18.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.06 and a beta of 2.70. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.33 and a fifty-two week high of $133.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $90.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.64.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current fiscal 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.