Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Invests $23.88 Million in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System opened a new position in AST SpaceMobile, buying 288,122 shares worth about $23.9 million in the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership in AST SpaceMobile remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 60.95% of the stock; notable holders include Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, Vodafone Ventures, and Norges Bank.
• Sentiment around ASTS is mixed: bulls point to potential defense and emergency-communications use cases, while bears highlight dilution risk, tougher competition from SpaceX and Amazon, and a Reduce consensus rating from analysts.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 288,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,877,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned about 0.08% of AST SpaceMobile at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vodafone Ventures Ltd purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth about $397,413,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $198,270,000. Clear Street Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $90,129,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company's stock worth $1,560,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company's stock worth $338,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425,199 shares during the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: New coverage highlights ASTS’s satellites as potentially useful for defense and emergency communications, reinforcing the company’s strategic value if its network can support mission-critical use cases. Can ASTS Satellites Transform the Future of Defense Communications?
• Positive Sentiment: Another July stock-picking article named AST SpaceMobile among space economy stocks to watch, suggesting some investors still see upside in the sector despite the recent pullback. 3 Space Economy Stocks to Buy in July
• Neutral Sentiment: One valuation-focused piece argued that SpaceX has the edge over ASTS because of lower valuation and faster expected 2026 sales growth, which may pressure sentiment around ASTS’s relative attractiveness. AST SpaceMobile vs. SpaceX: Which Space Connectivity Stock Wins Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary on ASTS says its large capital expenditure needs could lead to further dilution, a key concern for shareholders if additional funding is required. AST SpaceMobile: The CapEx Requirement Will Lead To Further Dilution
• Negative Sentiment: Broader satellite-to-cell competition is heating up, with FCC comments favoring SpaceX and mentioning Amazon, raising concerns that ASTS may face a tougher competitive landscape. ASTS Stock Eyes Worst Week In Over A Month: FCC Chair Says SPCX, AMZN Are Heating Up Satellite-To-Cell Competition

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

Shares of ASTS opened at $73.32 on Monday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $87.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.72. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.08 and a 1 year high of $133.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.46 billion, a PE ratio of -41.19 and a beta of 2.69.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The business had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.20) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total transaction of $1,145,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 43,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,145,809 shares of company stock worth $280,645,292. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. New Street Research set a $106.00 price target on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, May 29th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on 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, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $85.09.

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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