Janus Henderson Group PLC Trims Stake in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its position in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,629,085 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,825,815 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 1.35% of AST SpaceMobile worth $94,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 49.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,663,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217,531 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 228.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,131,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,594,000 after purchasing an additional 787,566 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 846,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,125,000 after purchasing an additional 47,600 shares during the last quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter valued at about $21,476,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 56.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 472,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,489,000 after acquiring an additional 170,440 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.83, for a total value of $2,066,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 393,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,157,182.56. This represents a 16.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.26, for a total value of $1,091,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 55,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,334,300. The trade was a 45.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,700 shares of company stock worth $3,220,524 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 41.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ASTS shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. B. Riley boosted their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $45.90 to $44.70 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $22.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASTS opened at $22.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.68 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 5.80, a quick ratio of 5.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $24.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.32. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1.97 and a 12-month high of $39.08.

AST SpaceMobile 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.