Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. by 79.9% during the first quarter, owning 67,763 shares valued at $1,541,000 according to SEC filings.
• Several institutional investors, including CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, have also significantly boosted their stakes in AST SpaceMobile, with hedge funds owning 60.95% of the stock.
• AST SpaceMobile has received mixed analyst ratings, with a "Moderate Buy" average rating and a target price of $45.34 amid reporting a loss of ($0.20) earnings per share for the recent quarter.

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 79.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,763 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,101 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $1,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ ASTS traded up $1.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,934,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,576,103. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $42.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.05. The company has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a PE ratio of -27.28 and a beta of 2.27. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.11 and a fifty-two week high of $60.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 10.62 and a quick ratio of 10.62.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ASTS. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.40 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer began coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.34.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.84, for a total transaction of $418,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 305,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,789,107.28. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $19,450,461.75. This represents a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 184,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,146,750 in the last 90 days. 34.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.