HighTower Advisors LLC Has $23.80 Million Stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its AST SpaceMobile stake by 18% in the fourth quarter, ending with 327,665 shares valued at about $23.8 million.
• Institutional interest remains strong overall, with several other funds adding shares and 60.95% of ASTS stock now held by institutional investors.
• AST SpaceMobile is drawing mixed signals from Wall Street and insiders: analysts have a Reduce consensus rating, while recent insider sales and a weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings report may raise caution despite the stock's strong recent run.

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 327,665 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 49,892 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of AST SpaceMobile worth $23,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 11.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 3,642 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 3,515 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 16.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 467,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,634,000 after acquiring an additional 64,989 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 325,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,405,000 after acquiring an additional 49,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at approximately $168,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile News Summary

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. 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. Finally, New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $79.45.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.22, for a total transaction of $116,397,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,980,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,412,448,964.10. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.25, for a total transaction of $451,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 565,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,063,901.25. The trade was a 0.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,100,000 shares of company stock worth $276,048,350. Corporate insiders own 20.89% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASTS opened at $105.86 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $85.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.47. The stock has a market cap of $41.09 billion, a PE ratio of -59.47 and a beta of 2.60. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.47 and a fifty-two week high of $129.89. 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 (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.20) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS 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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