Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 63,961 AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 63,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,350,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 235.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,781 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,479,000 after acquiring an additional 174,007 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,728,000 after buying an additional 135,008 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $755,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted 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 purchasing an additional 23,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 150.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 258,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,460,000 after purchasing an additional 155,310 shares during the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ASTS. Roth Capital started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total transaction of $614,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 52,628 shares in the company, valued at $1,617,258.44. This represents a 27.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 41.80% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

Shares of ASTS stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.50. 4,134,827 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,691,884. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2.12 and a 12 month high of $39.08. The company has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.03 and a beta of 2.05. The company's 50 day moving average price is $24.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 5.80 and a current ratio of 5.80.

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.