Northern Trust Corp Acquires 33,259 Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. by 2.7%, acquiring an additional 33,259 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.27 million shares valued at about $28.8 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter, with 60.95% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• AST SpaceMobile reported a loss of ($0.41) earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst expectations, while the firm's revenue was significantly lower than projected at $1.16 million.

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,266,315 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,259 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.40% of AST SpaceMobile worth $28,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. Alphabet Inc. acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,375,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,218,000. Key Colony Management LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 204.1% in the 1st quarter. Key Colony Management LLC now owns 596,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,553,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,294,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,461,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of ASTS traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $48.94. 5,127,690 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,418,904. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.50 and a fifty-two week high of $60.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 8.23 and a quick ratio of 8.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.93 and a 200-day moving average of $35.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.89 and a beta of 2.43.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.22). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 26.81% and a negative net margin of 7,213.90%.The firm had revenue of $1.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 million. On average, research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.41.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.84, for a total value of $418,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 305,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,789,107.28. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total transaction of $1,782,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 545,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,450,461.75. The trade was a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 149,250 shares of company stock valued at $5,721,250. Company insiders own 41.80% of the company's stock.

About AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and provides access to a space-based cellular broadband network for smartphones in the United States. Its SpaceMobile service provides cellular broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.