DNB Asset Management AS Lowers Position in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

DNB Asset Management AS trimmed its stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 187,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85,544 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $13,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investmark Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 22.9% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 3.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile announced a satellite-to-phone joint venture to extend coverage in dead zones, which investors may see as validation of AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-device business model and a sign of growing demand for space-based mobile connectivity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile publicly welcomed the carriers’ joint venture, reinforcing the idea that its space-based cellular network could become an important part of future mobile coverage efforts. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research launched a new space-economy coverage group and included ASTS on its initial list, which can increase investor attention and trading interest in the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains cautious overall, with a reported consensus rating of “Reduce,” reflecting mixed views on AST SpaceMobile’s execution and valuation. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares, a move that can weigh on sentiment because insider selling sometimes signals reduced confidence, even though he still holds a meaningful stake. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent post-earnings coverage continues to highlight ASTS’s Q1 miss, weaker forecasts, and execution risks, which may limit upside despite the positive carrier news. Article Title

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,300,865.26. The trade was a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $154,499,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,330,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,681,362,770.10. The trade was a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,095,000 shares of company stock valued at $275,597,100. Corporate insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

Shares of ASTS stock opened at $83.67 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $31.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.01 and a beta of 2.60. 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 fifty-two week low of $22.47 and a fifty-two week high of $129.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $84.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.98.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced 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 net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The business had revenue of $14.74 million for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.