Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Sells 378,710 Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd. sold 378,710 shares of AST SpaceMobile in Q3, cutting its stake by 81.4% to 86,820 shares valued at about $4.26 million.
• Insider and institutional activity is heavy: the CAO sold 6,000 shares recently, insiders net-sold 2,354,621 shares (≈$164.35M) versus purchases of 2,765 shares (~$187K) over 90 days, while hedge funds own about 60.95% and insiders 30.90% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment has turned negative — MarketBeat shows an average rating of Reduce with an average price target of $45.66 after multiple downgrades from firms including B. Riley, Scotiabank and Barclays.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) by 81.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,820 shares of the company's stock after selling 378,710 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $4,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 225.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Maya Bernal sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total value of $442,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 122,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,034,567.36. This represents a 4.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Larson acquired 625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.00 per share, for a total transaction of $50,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,015 shares of the company's stock, valued at $161,200. This represents a 44.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 2,765 shares of company stock worth $187,236 and sold 2,354,621 shares worth $164,348,075. 30.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASTS has been the subject of several research reports. B. Riley lowered AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Scotiabank downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $45.60 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 2.4%

ASTS stock opened at $113.57 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.12. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.50 and a twelve month high of $120.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.68 billion, a PE ratio of -91.59 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a quick ratio of 9.48, a current ratio of 9.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.04 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 1,639.59% and a negative return on equity of 27.76%. AST SpaceMobile's revenue was up 1236.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.10) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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