Spear Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 86,914 AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• Spear Advisors LLC disclosed a new stake in AST SpaceMobile, buying 86,914 shares worth about $6.3 million. The holding represents roughly 4.4% of the fund’s portfolio and is its 10th-largest position.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with major investors like Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, Geode, and State Street all adding to their positions. Overall, 60.95% of AST SpaceMobile is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts remain cautious despite recent positive carrier-related news, with consensus rating at “Reduce” and a target price of $79.45. The company also reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and revenue below estimates, while insiders have recently sold shares.

Spear Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 86,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,313,000. AST SpaceMobile makes up about 4.4% of Spear Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,560,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,292 shares in the last quarter. Vodafone Ventures Ltd acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at $397,413,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425,199 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,522,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $328,749,000 after acquiring an additional 402,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,951,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,011,000 after acquiring an additional 350,690 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday. New Street Research assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $79.45.

Trending Headlines about AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile announced a satellite-to-phone joint venture to extend coverage in dead zones, which investors may see as validation of AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-device business model and a sign of growing demand for space-based mobile connectivity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile publicly welcomed the carriers’ joint venture, reinforcing the idea that its space-based cellular network could become an important part of future mobile coverage efforts. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research launched a new space-economy coverage group and included ASTS on its initial list, which can increase investor attention and trading interest in the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains cautious overall, with a reported consensus rating of “Reduce,” reflecting mixed views on AST SpaceMobile’s execution and valuation. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares, a move that can weigh on sentiment because insider selling sometimes signals reduced confidence, even though he still holds a meaningful stake. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent post-earnings coverage continues to highlight ASTS’s Q1 miss, weaker forecasts, and execution risks, which may limit upside despite the positive carrier news. Article Title

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of ASTS stock opened at $83.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.01 and a beta of 2.60. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.47 and a twelve month high of $129.89. The company has a quick ratio of 16.27, a current ratio of 18.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $84.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.96.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 company's revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AST SpaceMobile news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.22, for a total value of $116,397,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,980,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,412,448,964.10. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. The trade was a 25.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,095,000 shares of company stock worth $275,597,100 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 20.89% of the company's stock.

About AST SpaceMobile

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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