Lead Independent Director Of AST SpaceMobile Sold 30% Of Their Shares

Some AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Lead Independent Director, Julio Torres, recently sold a substantial US$615k worth of stock at a price of US$30.73 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 30% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

See our latest analysis for AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The EVP & COO, Shanti Gupta, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.1m worth of shares at a price of US$25.83 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$28.15). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 29% of Shanti Gupta's stake.

All up, insiders sold more shares in AST SpaceMobile than they bought, over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does AST SpaceMobile Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that AST SpaceMobile insiders own 0.3% of the company, worth about US$27m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At AST SpaceMobile Tell Us?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Be aware that AST SpaceMobile is showing 5 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those shouldn't be ignored...

Of course AST SpaceMobile may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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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.