EVR Research LP Buys Shares of 290,000 AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• EVR Research LP acquired 290,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. in the first quarter, with a total value of approximately $6,595,000, making it the 15th largest holding in the firm's portfolio.
• AST SpaceMobile's stock has been positively impacted by various hedge fund activities, with institutional investors now owning 60.95% of the company's stock.
• The company reported a significant earnings miss, with a loss of ($0.41) per share for its last quarter, falling short of consensus estimates by ($0.22).

EVR Research LP purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 290,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,595,000. AST SpaceMobile comprises about 1.9% of EVR Research LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. EVR Research LP owned about 0.09% of AST SpaceMobile at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,244 shares of the company's stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 72.4% in the 1st quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,810 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 15.6% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,525 shares of the company's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. William Blair started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.41.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTS traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.94. 5,127,690 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,699,386. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.50 and a 52-week high of $60.95. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $49.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 8.23 and a current ratio of 8.23. The company has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of -25.89 and a beta of 2.33.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $1.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 26.81% and a negative net margin of 7,213.90%. As a group, research analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total value of $147,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 20,750 shares in the company, valued at $717,950. The trade was a 17.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total transaction of $1,049,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 397,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,860,012.80. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 149,250 shares of company stock worth $5,721,250. Company insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

About AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and provides access to a space-based cellular broadband network for smartphones in the United States. Its SpaceMobile service provides cellular broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.