Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its AST SpaceMobile stake by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 402,505 shares to reach 4,522,549 shares valued at about $328.7 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: Deutsche Bank cut its rating to hold and lowered its price target, while the broader analyst average is a "Reduce" with an average target of $81.33.
• Insider selling has been notable, including CFO Andrew Martin Johnson and major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani, even as the stock traded at $105.65 and the company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and lower-than-expected revenue.

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,522,549 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 402,505 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.23% of AST SpaceMobile worth $328,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. New Street Research set a $106.00 price objective on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $81.33.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.25, for a total value of $451,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 565,805 shares in the company, valued at $51,063,901.25. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total value of $154,499,800.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 29,330,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,681,362,770.10. This represents a 5.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,100,000 shares of company stock worth $276,048,350. Corporate insiders own 20.89% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

AST SpaceMobile stock opened at $105.65 on Tuesday. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a one year low of $22.72 and a one year high of $133.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a current ratio of 18.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $88.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.64. The company has a market cap of $41.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -59.35 and a beta of 2.70.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last released its 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). 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 analyst estimates of $39.01 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. AST SpaceMobile's revenue was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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