Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 158.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,876 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,870 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $2,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Advocate Investing Services LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASTS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 research note on Tuesday, May 12th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $85.09.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief technology officer owned 34,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,348,857.50. This trade represents a 53.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 3,145,809 shares of company stock valued at $280,645,292 over the last quarter. 20.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AST SpaceMobile News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Japan is reportedly preparing about 150 billion yen, or roughly $926 million, in subsidies for a Rakuten Group-led consortium working with AST SpaceMobile to build a direct-to-mobile satellite network in Japan, a major validation of ASTS’s technology and a potential source of meaningful revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile rose sharply after reports that it is partnering with Rakuten on a Japanese satellite communications project, reinforcing investor confidence that the company is moving closer to commercialization. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The broader space sector also got a lift from Rocket Lab’s Iridium deal, which may have helped increase investor appetite for satellite and space communications names like ASTS.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted AST SpaceMobile as a high-beta momentum name with a large cash runway, but this was more opinion-driven than a new company-specific event. AST SpaceMobile stock page

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTS opened at $86.10 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $87.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 18.47 and a quick ratio of 18.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.37 and a beta of 2.69. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a one year low of $36.08 and a one year high of $133.86.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $14.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The business’s revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.20) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share 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.