AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS Position Lifted by NewEdge Advisors LLC

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 133.9%, owning 79,829 shares valued at approximately $1.8 million.
• AST SpaceMobile reported a quarterly earnings loss of ($0.41) per share, missing estimates and generating only $1.16 million in revenue against analyst expectations of $6.37 million.
• Insiders, including COO and CFO, have sold significant portions of their shares in the company, reflecting changes in their holdings and a decrease in positions.

NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 133.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,829 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,699 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $1,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth approximately $705,398,000. Alphabet Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,375,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,750,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,218,000. Finally, Key Colony Management LLC grew its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 204.1% in the 1st quarter. Key Colony Management LLC now owns 596,000 shares of the company's stock worth $13,553,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of ASTS stock opened at $38.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 8.23 and a current ratio of 8.23. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.50 and a 1 year high of $60.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.76 billion, a PE ratio of -20.30 and a beta of 2.43.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.22). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 26.81% and a negative net margin of 7,213.90%.The business had revenue of $1.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 million. As a group, research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AST SpaceMobile news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.84, for a total transaction of $418,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 305,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,789,107.28. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total value of $1,049,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 397,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,860,012.80. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank decreased their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.82.

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.

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