Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 47,528 Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. $ASTS

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) by 1,025.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,161 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 47,528 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AST SpaceMobile were worth $4,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 8,016.7% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,269,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000,000 after buying an additional 1,253,967 shares in the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,649,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 1,062.9% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 77,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,665,000 after acquiring an additional 71,287 shares in the last quarter. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth about $2,290,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 232,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,882,000 after acquiring an additional 48,318 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting AST SpaceMobile

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

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile scheduled the launch of BlueBird satellites 11, 12 and 13 for August 5 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Florida. The mission would expand the company’s satellite constellation and support progress toward commercial direct-to-device service. AST SpaceMobile Announces Launch Date for BlueBird Satellites 11, 12, and 13
• Positive Sentiment: Vodafone reportedly reaffirmed the value of its AST SpaceMobile partnership and is targeting an early-2027 U.K. beta launch. However, testing would require approximately 45 satellites, making further successful deployments important. ASTS Stock Breaks 3-Day Slide: Vodafone Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Management will provide second-quarter 2026 financial and business updates on August 10. Investors may look for details on satellite deployment, funding needs, commercial agreements and the timing of revenue growth. AST SpaceMobile to Host Second Quarter 2026 Business Update Call
• Negative Sentiment: ASTS declined amid a broad-based space-sector correction affecting SpaceX, Rocket Lab and other space names. The selloff indicates investors are reducing exposure to high-volatility, high-valuation companies despite company-specific catalysts. Space Stocks Face Broad Sector Selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s proposed 5,105-satellite Amazon Leo constellation raises the risk of intensified competition in direct-to-device connectivity. A well-capitalized entrant could pressure pricing, margins and AST SpaceMobile’s premium valuation. Amazon’s Satellite Push Raises the Stakes
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of ASTS investors. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but shareholder litigation headlines can add uncertainty and selling pressure. Pomerantz Investor Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary also questioned whether AST SpaceMobile can keep pace with Starlink’s expanding direct-to-device lead, reinforcing concerns about execution, capital requirements and long-term market share.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total value of $3,854,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. This trade represents a 53.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $4,297,342.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 503,619 shares in the company, valued at $47,244,498.39. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 105,809 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,492 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 20.89% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 3.0%

NASDAQ:ASTS opened at $56.55 on Wednesday. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a one year low of $36.08 and a one year 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. The firm has a market cap of $21.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.77 and a beta of 2.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.08.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.43). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The business had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.20) EPS. AST SpaceMobile’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ASTS. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut AST SpaceMobile from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.95.

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.