Key Insights

• AST SpaceMobile's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 44% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Institutional ownership in AST SpaceMobile is 38%

If you want to know who really controls AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 51% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 12% decrease in the stock price last week, retail investors suffered the most losses, but institutions who own 38% stock also took a hit.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about AST SpaceMobile.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AST SpaceMobile?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

We can see that AST SpaceMobile does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of AST SpaceMobile, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in AST SpaceMobile. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Antares Technologies Llc with 7.2% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 5.4% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 5.2% by the third-largest shareholder.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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$40m. 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. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 7.3%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with AST SpaceMobile (at least 3 which are significant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com