KPP Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• KPP Advisory Services acquired a new 22,700-share stake in AST SpaceMobile in Q4, valued at about $1.65 million, joining other institutions that collectively own roughly 60.95% of the company.
• Significant insider selling took place: Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1.35 million shares for ~$116.4 million, and insiders sold 3.08 million shares in the quarter (≈$274.45 million), leaving insiders with 30.90% ownership.
• Analysts are cautious overall, with a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Reduce" and a $82.51 average price target; ASTS is loss-making (negative EPS), has a $27.08 billion market cap, and a one-year trading range of $22.47–$129.89.

KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 22,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,649,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $581,000. Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 5,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 11,603 shares of the company's stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 607.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 707 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 107.2% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,210 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. New Street Research set a $115.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $82.51.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

ASTS opened at $70.89 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $86.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.37. The company has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.70 and a beta of 2.60. The company has a current ratio of 16.35, a quick ratio of 16.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.47 and a 1-year high of $129.89.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $54.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.53 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 482.16% and a negative return on equity of 23.02%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2731.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,980,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,412,448,964.10. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $422,180. The trade was a 89.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,080,000 shares of company stock valued at $274,452,000. 30.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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