Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Invests $34.63 Million in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group disclosed a new first-quarter stake in AST SpaceMobile, buying 417,845 shares worth about $34.6 million. The position represented 0.11% of the company’s stock.
• AST SpaceMobile shares fell 7.8% to $67.58, even as the company maintained a large market cap of $26.23 billion and strong institutional ownership of 60.95%.
• The company posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, with EPS of -$0.66 versus estimates of -$0.23, and revenue of $14.73 million versus $39.01 million expected. Analysts remain cautious overall, with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $85.09.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 417,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,627,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.11% of AST SpaceMobile as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 7.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTS opened at $67.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.97 and a beta of 2.69. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.08 and a 1 year high of $133.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 18.47 and a quick ratio of 18.37. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $87.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.59.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total value of $3,854,800.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,348,857.50. This trade represents a 53.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 1,455,809 shares of company stock valued at $126,145,492 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 20.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, New Street Research set a $106.00 price objective on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $85.09.

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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