17,041 Shares in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS Acquired by Townsquare Capital LLC

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC has acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc., purchasing 17,041 shares valued at approximately $388,000 in the first quarter.
• AST SpaceMobile's stock recently opened at $48.08, with a market cap of $15.22 billion and a significant range over the past year between $17.50 and $60.95.
• The company reported a net loss of ($0.41) earnings per share, missing analyst estimates, with total revenue of only $1.16 million for the quarter.

Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 17,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 117,822 shares of the company's stock worth $2,486,000 after buying an additional 23,746 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 70,667 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 17,925 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,350,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 815.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,221 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 3,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 29,251 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 3,957 shares during the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

Shares of AST SpaceMobile stock traded down $3.21 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,914,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,959,412. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $48.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.86. The company has a quick ratio of 8.23, a current ratio of 8.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.78 and a beta of 2.33. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.50 and a 12-month high of $60.95.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,213.90% and a negative return on equity of 26.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $38.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank cut their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.41.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total transaction of $1,782,500.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 545,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,450,461.75. This trade represents a 8.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.84, for a total value of $418,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 305,667 shares in the company, valued at $12,789,107.28. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 129,250 shares of company stock valued at $4,671,650 over the last quarter. 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.