Wealthfront Advisers LLC Raises Stock Holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 14.8% in Q4, bringing its holding to 61,463 shares valued at about $4.46 million.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently — major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares for roughly $116.4 million on April 15, and insiders have sold a total of 3,080,000 shares (~$274.45M) in the last 90 days, though insiders still own 30.90% of the company.
• ASTS opened at $73.90 (52-week range $22.47–$129.89) with a market cap of $28.23 billion and negative EPS, and analysts have a consensus rating of Reduce with a $82.51 target price.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,463 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,906 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $4,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ASTS. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 11.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,548 shares of the company's stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 3,642 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,764 shares of the company's stock worth $1,814,000 after buying an additional 3,515 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 16.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 467,626 shares of the company's stock worth $10,634,000 after buying an additional 64,989 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 325,621 shares of the company's stock worth $7,405,000 after buying an additional 49,811 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth approximately $168,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 5.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTS opened at $73.90 on Friday. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.47 and a 52-week high of $129.89. The stock has a market cap of $28.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.98 and a beta of 2.81. The business's 50 day moving average is $86.85 and its 200 day moving average is $83.49. The company has a quick ratio of 16.27, a current ratio of 16.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $54.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.53 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 482.16% and a negative return on equity of 23.02%. The firm's revenue was up 2731.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ASTS. Scotiabank cut AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $45.60 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen cut AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. New Street Research set a $115.00 price objective on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $82.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.22, for a total transaction of $116,397,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,980,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,412,448,964.10. This trade represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total value of $3,555,200.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $422,180. This trade represents a 89.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,080,000 shares of company stock worth $274,452,000 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 30.90% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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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