Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its AST SpaceMobile stake by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 61,800 shares valued at about $4.49 million.
• Institutional interest remains strong, with major funds like Vanguard, Van ECK, Invesco, and Jump Financial also expanding positions; institutions now own about 60.95% of ASTS.
• Analysts remain cautious overall despite some higher targets, with the stock carrying a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $79.45 price target, while AST SpaceMobile also reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and weaker-than-expected revenue.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,800 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,800 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $4,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 13.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,919,888 shares of the company's stock worth $977,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351,539 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter worth about $90,129,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 125.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 782,041 shares of the company's stock worth $38,382,000 after purchasing an additional 434,615 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 610.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 475,531 shares of the company's stock worth $22,222,000 after purchasing an additional 408,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 2,126.2% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 379,203 shares of the company's stock worth $18,611,000 after purchasing an additional 362,169 shares during the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.25, for a total transaction of $451,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 565,805 shares in the company, valued at $51,063,901.25. This represents a 0.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total transaction of $3,555,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,180. The trade was a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,100,000 shares of company stock valued at $276,048,350 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 20.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASTS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $79.45.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 10.0%

Shares of AST SpaceMobile stock opened at $105.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 18.47 and a quick ratio of 18.37. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.47 and a 1 year high of $129.89. The firm's 50-day moving average is $85.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.47. The stock has a market cap of $41.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.47 and a beta of 2.60.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AST SpaceMobile News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Defiance launched ASTY, a 2X long ETF on AST SpaceMobile, signaling strong trader demand for bullish exposure to ASTS. Defiance Launches ASTY: The 2X Long ETF for AST SpaceMobile, Inc.
• Positive Sentiment: ASTS is benefiting from broader enthusiasm for space infrastructure names ahead of the SpaceX IPO, which has lifted sentiment across satellite and launch stocks. SpaceX IPO Filing Is Moving Rocket Lab, CoreWeave, and Other Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary has also pointed to AST SpaceMobile’s FCC approval and its role as a likely beneficiary of rising satellite-to-phone demand, supporting the company’s long-term growth narrative. Forget SpaceX. These 2 Space Stocks Could Be the Real Winners Of the Coming IPO Frenzy
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on ASTS’s huge multi-year run and asked whether the stock is getting expensive, suggesting some investors are weighing valuation against future growth. Is It Too Late To Consider AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) After Its Recent 17x Three Year Surge?
• Negative Sentiment: ASTS CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 5,000 shares, a small insider sale that may prompt some caution, though his remaining stake is still substantial. SEC insider filing

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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