Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 10,400 Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 15.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,400 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $6,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,687,000 after buying an additional 1,568,292 shares during the last quarter. Vodafone Ventures Ltd purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at about $397,413,000. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425,199 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,522,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,749,000 after purchasing an additional 402,505 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,951,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,011,000 after purchasing an additional 350,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

ASTS stock opened at $70.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.62 billion, a PE ratio of -33.17 and a beta of 2.75. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.08 and a 12-month high of $133.86. The company has a current ratio of 13.05, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $72.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.78.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.45). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 22.88% and a negative net margin of 536.66%.The business had revenue of $31.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total value of $3,854,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,348,857.50. The trade was a 53.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $4,297,342.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 503,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,244,498.39. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 90,809 shares of company stock worth $8,603,392. Company insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

More AST SpaceMobile News

Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile has reported a roughly $1.3 billion backlog, supporting the long-term revenue opportunity if the company can deploy satellites and begin scaling service quickly. Deployment progress has remained a key focus for investors, while bullish commentary argues that the company’s subscriber potential could support its valuation. AST SpaceMobile Has a $1.3B Backlog
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst upgrade and a separate Cantor Fitzgerald view that the shares could rise provided near-term support, reinforcing the bullish case around AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-device satellite network. AST SpaceMobile Stock Price Up After Analyst Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed. One comparison concluded that IBM’s steadier earnings outlook and lower valuation currently make it the relatively safer technology investment, even though ASTS has delivered stronger stock gains over time. AST SpaceMobile vs. IBM
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue of $31.5 million missed expectations of approximately $34.5 million, while the net loss widened to $230.9 million. The company also missed consensus EPS estimates as operating expenses surged, raising concerns about cash usage and the pace of commercialization. Does ASTS Stock Warrant Caution
• Negative Sentiment: Competition from SpaceX’s Starlink, potential deployment delays and what analysts describe as an inflated valuation are weighing on sentiment. Investors appear to be demanding evidence that AST SpaceMobile can build its network fast enough to convert its backlog into dependable revenue. ASTS and RKLB Chase the SpaceX Playbook

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ASTS. New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, May 29th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $93.00 price target on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.98.

AST SpaceMobile 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.