Alphabet Inc. Purchases Shares of 8,943,486 AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)

Alphabet Inc. purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,943,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $203,375,000. AST SpaceMobile makes up about 12.9% of Alphabet Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Alphabet Inc. owned 2.83% of AST SpaceMobile at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,728,000 after purchasing an additional 135,008 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 117,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,486,000 after buying an additional 23,746 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 117.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 51,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,095,000 after buying an additional 28,025 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,220,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,264,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

Shares of AST SpaceMobile stock traded up $4.82 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $57.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,751,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,895,647. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.95. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a one year low of $12.24 and a one year high of $58.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 10.62 and a quick ratio of 10.62. The stock has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.87 and a beta of 2.27.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.03). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 23.56% and a negative net margin of 7,033.22%. The business had revenue of $0.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 million. On average, analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $1,475,100.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total transaction of $1,782,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 545,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,450,461.75. This represents a 8.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 184,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,146,750. Company insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ASTS. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.40 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.34.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and provides access to a space-based cellular broadband network for smartphones in the United States. Its SpaceMobile service provides cellular broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.