Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases New Stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 66,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,436,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vodafone Ventures Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth approximately $397,413,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth approximately $198,270,000. Clear Street Group Inc. acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $90,129,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

Key AST SpaceMobile News

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

• Positive Sentiment: New coverage highlights ASTS’s satellites as potentially useful for defense and emergency communications, reinforcing the company’s strategic value if its network can support mission-critical use cases. Can ASTS Satellites Transform the Future of Defense Communications?
• Positive Sentiment: Another July stock-picking article named AST SpaceMobile among space economy stocks to watch, suggesting some investors still see upside in the sector despite the recent pullback. 3 Space Economy Stocks to Buy in July
• Neutral Sentiment: One valuation-focused piece argued that SpaceX has the edge over ASTS because of lower valuation and faster expected 2026 sales growth, which may pressure sentiment around ASTS’s relative attractiveness. AST SpaceMobile vs. SpaceX: Which Space Connectivity Stock Wins Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary on ASTS says its large capital expenditure needs could lead to further dilution, a key concern for shareholders if additional funding is required. AST SpaceMobile: The CapEx Requirement Will Lead To Further Dilution
• Negative Sentiment: Broader satellite-to-cell competition is heating up, with FCC comments favoring SpaceX and mentioning Amazon, raising concerns that ASTS may face a tougher competitive landscape. ASTS Stock Eyes Worst Week In Over A Month: FCC Chair Says SPCX, AMZN Are Heating Up Satellite-To-Cell Competition

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASTS has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $85.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total transaction of $154,499,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 29,330,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,681,362,770.10. The trade was a 5.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value of $1,145,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 43,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 3,145,809 shares of company stock valued at $280,645,292 in the last three months. Company insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASTS opened at $73.32 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.19 and a beta of 2.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $87.43 and its 200 day moving average is $89.72. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.08 and a 52 week high of $133.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a current ratio of 18.47.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.43). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The firm had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.20) earnings per share. AST SpaceMobile’s quarterly revenue was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.