Rakuten Securities Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 157.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,603 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,037 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.'s holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,987,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,233,000 after purchasing an additional 4,955,941 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $59,523,000. Key Colony Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 641,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,539,000 after buying an additional 234,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,496,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,801,000 after buying an additional 229,759 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

ASTS traded up $4.25 on Wednesday, hitting $44.35. 21,208,036 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,403,062. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.32 and a fifty-two week high of $44.68. The company has a current ratio of 10.62, a quick ratio of 10.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.44. The stock has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.29 and a beta of 2.02.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $0.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,033.22% and a negative return on equity of 23.56%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ASTS. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $47.90 to $45.40 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.73.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total value of $1,782,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 545,595 shares in the company, valued at $19,450,461.75. This represents a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total transaction of $147,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 20,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,950. This trade represents a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 184,250 shares of company stock worth $6,146,750. Company insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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.