AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS Shares Sold by X Square Capital LLC

Key Points

• X Square Capital LLC cut its AST SpaceMobile stake by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 57,800 shares and ending with 170,350 shares valued at about $12.4 million.
• Insider selling has been heavy, including director Julio A. Torres and major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani, with insiders selling 3.14 million shares worth about $279.9 million over the last 90 days.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce,” with an average target price of $81.33, while the company recently reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and weaker-than-expected revenue.

X Square Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 25.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,350 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,800 shares during the period. AST SpaceMobile comprises 4.1% of X Square Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. X Square Capital LLC's holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $12,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $421,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 192,769 shares of the company's stock worth $14,001,000 after acquiring an additional 61,010 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,830 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at $347,000. Finally, Havemeyer Place LP acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at $683,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at $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, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.22, for a total transaction of $116,397,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,980,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,412,448,964.10. This trade represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,140,000 shares of company stock worth $279,903,150 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 20.89% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ASTS. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $117.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $81.33.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 1.6%

ASTS stock opened at $92.06 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.16. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.25 and a 12 month high of $133.86. The company has a market cap of $35.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.72 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 18.47 and a quick ratio of 18.37.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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