Candriam S.C.A. Purchases New Position in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,107,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. This trade represents a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total value of $3,854,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. This 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 have sold 105,809 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,492 in the last ninety days. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ASTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $86.95.

Key Stories Impacting AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile said BlueBird 11 has arrived at Cape Canaveral, with BlueBirds 12 and 13 expected to follow for an August launch, keeping its satellite deployment roadmap on track. AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Secures Global Approvals As Texas Expansion And Launches Near
• Positive Sentiment: Bell Canada completed its first direct-to-device satellite ground station in Québec, a sign that AST SpaceMobile’s network ecosystem is expanding and moving closer to commercialization in Canada. Bell successfully completes construction of its first sovereign direct-to-device satellite ground station in Canada
• Positive Sentiment: Midland is set to consider a $150 million manufacturing expansion tied to AST SpaceMobile that could create 1,800 jobs, reinforcing the company’s long-term buildout narrative. ASTS Stock Snaps 3-Day Losing Streak On ‘Imminent’ BlueBird Launch — Midland Weighs $150M AST SpaceMobile Deal

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASTS opened at $66.31 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.25 and a beta of 2.69. The company has a quick ratio of 18.37, a current ratio of 18.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.08 and a 52 week high of $133.86.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The business had revenue of $14.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.20) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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