Vanguard Group Inc. Has $328.85 Million Stock Holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,461,249 shares of the company's stock after selling 526,102 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 4.57% of AST SpaceMobile worth $328,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alphabet Inc. bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,375,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 117,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,486,000 after purchasing an additional 23,746 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 117.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 51,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 28,025 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,220,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,264,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ASTS. Bank of America began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of 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, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $62.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.41.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total value of $147,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 20,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $717,950. This trade represents a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total transaction of $1,782,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 545,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,450,461.75. This trade represents a 8.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,250 shares of company stock valued at $4,671,650. Corporate insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of ASTS stock opened at $48.08 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.37 and a 200-day moving average of $33.56. The company has a quick ratio of 10.62, a current ratio of 8.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.50 and a 12-month high of $60.95. The company has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.44 and a beta of 2.33.

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). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 26.81% and a negative net margin of 7,213.90%. The company had revenue of $1.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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