Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 86,021 Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 2,493.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,471 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,021 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $6,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.25, for a total transaction of $451,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 565,805 shares in the company, valued at $51,063,901.25. The trade was a 0.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total transaction of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,300,865.26. This trade represents a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,100,000 shares of company stock valued at $276,048,350 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: Defiance launched ASTY, a 2X long ETF on AST SpaceMobile, signaling strong trader demand for bullish exposure to ASTS. Defiance Launches ASTY: The 2X Long ETF for AST SpaceMobile, Inc.
• Positive Sentiment: ASTS is benefiting from broader enthusiasm for space infrastructure names ahead of the SpaceX IPO, which has lifted sentiment across satellite and launch stocks. SpaceX IPO Filing Is Moving Rocket Lab, CoreWeave, and Other Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary has also pointed to AST SpaceMobile’s FCC approval and its role as a likely beneficiary of rising satellite-to-phone demand, supporting the company’s long-term growth narrative. Forget SpaceX. These 2 Space Stocks Could Be the Real Winners Of the Coming IPO Frenzy
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on ASTS’s huge multi-year run and asked whether the stock is getting expensive, suggesting some investors are weighing valuation against future growth. Is It Too Late To Consider AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) After Its Recent 17x Three Year Surge?
• Negative Sentiment: ASTS CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 5,000 shares, a small insider sale that may prompt some caution, though his remaining stake is still substantial. SEC insider filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $79.45.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 10.0%

ASTS opened at $105.86 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -59.47 and a beta of 2.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 18.47 and a quick ratio of 18.37. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a one year low of $22.47 and a one year high of $129.89.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The firm had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.20) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.