California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 18,426 Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• CalPERS reduced its AST SpaceMobile stake by 5% in the first quarter, selling 18,426 shares and ending with 350,929 shares valued at about $29.1 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but cautious overall: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $86.95, though Piper Sandler initiated coverage with an “Overweight” rating and a $100 target.
• AST SpaceMobile posted weak recent results despite rapid revenue growth, missing earnings and revenue estimates in its latest quarter, while also seeing notable insider selling and a new $1.15 billion convertible note offering to fund its satellite network buildout.

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 350,929 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,426 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.09% of AST SpaceMobile worth $29,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 16,350.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ASTS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, May 29th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.95.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 10.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTS opened at $63.34 on Wednesday. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.08 and a 52-week high of $133.86. The company has a market capitalization of $24.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.58 and a beta of 2.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.05. 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) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The business had revenue of $14.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. The trade was a 53.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $4,297,342.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 503,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,244,498.39. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 105,809 shares of company stock worth $9,748,492. 20.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

AST SpaceMobile 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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