Moran Wealth Management LLC Buys 6,432 Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 9.4%, buying 6,432 shares to hold 75,039 shares worth about $5.45 million at the end of the quarter.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently — billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1.69 million shares (~$154.5M) and insiders sold about 3.08 million shares in the quarter (roughly $274.45M), trimming insider ownership to ~30.9%.
• The BlueBird‑7 launch scheduled for April 19 is a near‑term operational catalyst that could validate ASTS technology, while institutional accumulation (Vanguard, VanEck, Invesco) supports demand; however, analyst downgrades and competition from Amazon/Globalstar present downside risks.

Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 75,039 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,432 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $5,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $977,668,000 after buying an additional 2,351,539 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter valued at $90,129,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake 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 valued at $38,382,000 after buying an additional 434,615 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 610.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 475,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,222,000 after buying an additional 408,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $18,611,000 after buying an additional 362,169 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider owned 29,330,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,681,362,770.10. This trade represents a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total value of $3,555,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,180. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,080,000 shares of company stock worth $274,452,000. 30.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: BlueBird‑7 launch scheduled for April 19 — a proximate operational catalyst that could validate ASTS technology and reduce execution uncertainty if successful; company invited qualified retail shareholders to attend the live launch. AST SpaceMobile Announces BlueBird 7 Launch Date
• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile endorsement — Jim Cramer spoke favorably about ASTS on Mad Money ("Let's own this one"), which can stimulate retail buying and short‑term momentum. Jim Cramer on AST SpaceMobile: “Let’s Own This One”
• Positive Sentiment: Improved commercial outlook and liquidity cited — analysis highlights FY25 revenue growth, FY26 guidance ($150–$200M) and a path to $1B by FY27, plus a $1.2B contracted backlog and ~$3.9B in liquidity, which reduces near‑term dilution risk. AST SpaceMobile: From Cash Burn To Dominance
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional accumulation reported — recent filings show large asset managers (Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, State Street) increasing positions, which supports longer‑term demand for shares. MarketBeat ASTS profile
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity — call open interest spiked (~172,934 calls bought, ~39% above average), indicating elevated bullish speculation or hedging but not guaranteeing directional follow‑through. (no direct article link)
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are re‑pricing the sector after Amazon’s Globalstar deal; some early buying as the market digests competitive implications and what it means for spectrum value and partner strategies. AST SpaceMobile shares climb as investors digest Amazon's Globalstar deal
• Negative Sentiment: Major insider selling — billionaire shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani disclosed multi‑day sales totaling several million shares (sales at avg. ~$86–$91), a meaningful reduction in his stake that can create selling pressure and signal liquidity needs. SEC ownership filing
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade / negative notes — at least one downgrade and critical takes on competitive/regulatory risk have been published, which can prompt short‑term selling and tighten margin for error ahead of the launch. AST SpaceMobile Trading Down After Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk from Amazon/Globalstar — a deep‑pocketed entrant and spectrum consolidation raise the stakes for market share and spectrum access, a structural headwind for ASTS if competition intensifies. Why AST SpaceMobile Stock Is Retreating After Amazon's Globalstar Deal

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

AST SpaceMobile stock opened at $85.53 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $88.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.34. The stock has a market cap of $32.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -64.79 and a beta of 2.81. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.26 and a 12-month high of $129.89. The company has a quick ratio of 16.27, a current ratio of 16.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 2731.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ASTS shares. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 target price on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank lowered AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $45.60 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $77.10.

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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