AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS Shares Bought by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank boosted its AST SpaceMobile stake by 53.8% in the first quarter, buying 231,100 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 660,300 shares worth about $54.7 million.
• ASTS has drawn mixed analyst views, with recent ratings ranging from overweight to sell; the consensus rating remains Hold and the average price target is $86.95.
• The company recently completed a $1.15 billion convertible note offering, which should strengthen its balance sheet and help fund satellite deployment, even as concerns persist over losses, insider selling, and legal scrutiny.

Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 53.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 660,300 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 231,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.17% of AST SpaceMobile worth $54,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. Vodafone Ventures Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at about $397,413,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $198,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company's stock worth $1,560,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,292 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 8,016.7% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,269,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ASTS shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.95.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

NASDAQ:ASTS opened at $63.34 on Wednesday. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a one year low of $36.08 and a one year 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. The firm has a market cap of $24.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.58 and a beta of 2.69. The firm's fifty day moving average is $86.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.05.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $14.73 million for 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%.AST SpaceMobile's revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.20) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile completed a private offering of $1.15 billion of convertible senior notes due 2034, giving the company significant added capital to fund satellite deployment and operations. AST SpaceMobile Announces Completion of Private Offering of $1.15 Billion of Convertible Senior Notes Due 2034
• Positive Sentiment: The stock is also benefiting from a broader risk-on move in space names, with investors rotating back into speculative aerospace and satellite stocks. AST SpaceMobile Catapults 12%, SpaceX Rises 7%, Virgin Galactic and Rocket Lab Rally as Space Stock Trade Takes a Risk-on Turn
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and market commentators are framing the recent pullback as an opportunity, arguing the new funding strengthens ASTS’s ability to pursue its long-term satellite network buildout. AST SpaceMobile: Convertible Notes Accelerate Its Full Potential (Rating Upgrade)
• Neutral Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile is also getting attention from a Midland factory expansion approval tied to its local footprint, which could support future manufacturing capacity but does not have an immediate financial impact. ASTS Stock Jumps Premarket: Midland Approves Factory Nearly 5x Larger Than AST SpaceMobile’s Original Plant
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary is also weighing on sentiment, including Jim Cramer’s view that AST SpaceMobile is “losing a fortune”, reinforcing concerns about cash burn and execution risk. ‘That Thing Has Just Been Crushed': Cramer On This Tech Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Separately, Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation on behalf of ASTS investors, which could add legal overhang and uncertainty for shareholders. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. - ASTS

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total transaction of $4,297,342.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,244,498.39. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,300,865.26. The trade was a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 105,809 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,492 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 20.89% of the company's stock.

About AST SpaceMobile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ASTS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report).

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.