Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 27,093 Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,239,620 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,093 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.39% of AST SpaceMobile worth $28,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTS. Alphabet Inc. bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth about $203,375,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $59,523,000. Key Colony Management LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 204.1% during the 1st quarter. Key Colony Management LLC now owns 596,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,553,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth about $7,294,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth about $5,461,000. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 6.7%

AST SpaceMobile stock opened at $44.95 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.94. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.50 and a fifty-two week high of $60.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.78 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 8.23 and a quick ratio of 8.23.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.22). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 26.81% and a negative net margin of 7,213.90%.The firm had revenue of $1.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ASTS shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total transaction of $1,782,500.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 545,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,450,461.75. This trade represents a 8.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total transaction of $147,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 20,750 shares in the company, valued at $717,950. The trade was a 17.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 129,250 shares of company stock valued at $4,671,650 in the last 90 days. 41.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.