Key Insights

• AST SpaceMobile's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public

• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 44% ownership

• Institutions own 38% of AST SpaceMobile

Every investor in AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 51% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 12% increase in the stock price last week, retail investors profited the most, but institutions who own 38% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of AST SpaceMobile.

Check out our latest analysis for AST SpaceMobile

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AST SpaceMobile?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

AST SpaceMobile already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see AST SpaceMobile's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in AST SpaceMobile. The company's largest shareholder is Antares Technologies Llc, with ownership of 7.2%. With 5.4% and 5.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, BlackRock, Inc. and Janus Henderson Group plc are the second and third largest shareholders.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of AST SpaceMobile

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in AST SpaceMobile, Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$47m. Most would see this as a real positive. Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 51% stake in AST SpaceMobile, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 7.3%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for AST SpaceMobile (3 are concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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