Amundi Purchases 99,236 Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• Amundi increased its AST SpaceMobile stake by 79.7% in the first quarter, purchasing 99,236 shares to hold 223,765 shares worth approximately $18.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 60.95% of the company.
• AST SpaceMobile reported a first-quarter loss of $0.66 per share and revenue of $14.73 million, missing analyst estimates of a $0.23 loss and $39.01 million in revenue. Analysts expect a full-year loss of $1.38 per share.
• The stock opened at $70.31, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $87.60. Recent insider sales totaled 105,809 shares worth about $9.75 million.

Amundi lifted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 79.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 223,765 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 99,236 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.06% of AST SpaceMobile worth $18,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 16,350.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

Shares of AST SpaceMobile stock opened at $70.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.50 and a beta of 2.75. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $79.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.88. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.08 and a twelve month high of $133.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a current ratio of 18.47.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ASTS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Barclays upped their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. B. Riley Financial upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $50.80 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $87.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 43,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief technology officer owned 34,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,348,857.50. This trade represents a 53.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 105,809 shares of company stock worth $9,748,492 over the last three months. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AST SpaceMobile News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile is scheduled to launch BlueBird satellites 11–13 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 on Aug. 5. The mission is an important step toward expanding the company’s direct-to-smartphone broadband constellation, while the satellites’ reported Guinness World Record recognition added publicity and investor enthusiasm. ASTS Stock Hits Nearly 3-Week High: Meta Exec Teases WhatsApp Over Satellite Ahead Of BlueBird Launch
• Positive Sentiment: A Meta executive highlighted work related to bringing WhatsApp connectivity over satellites, reinforcing expectations that AST SpaceMobile could benefit from partnerships supporting satellite-to-device communications. AST SpaceMobile gains as Meta executive highlights WhatsApp satellite workshop
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest reportedly declined to approximately 19.9% of the public float from 21.7% the prior week. The reduction may ease short-selling pressure ahead of the BlueBird launch, although short interest remains elevated. ASTS Short Interest Drops Below 20% Ahead Of BlueBird Launch
• Neutral Sentiment: ASTS participated in a broader rally among space stocks as traders positioned around SpaceX’s first public earnings report. The sector-wide move may support near-term sentiment but does not directly change AST SpaceMobile’s fundamentals. Space stocks rally ahead of SpaceX earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are awaiting AST SpaceMobile’s Aug. 10 second-quarter earnings report. Analysts and pre-earnings commentary question the likelihood of an earnings beat, while competition, execution risk and the company’s history of losses could increase volatility. Is AST SpaceMobile Stock a Smart Buy Before Q2 Earnings Release?
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of AST SpaceMobile investors. The investigation does not establish wrongdoing, but it introduces headline and potential litigation risk. Pomerantz investor investigation

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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