If AT&T and Verizon are so confident of AST SpaceMobile’s success, why are they planning to sell their AST shares?
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS -5.25%) stock fell 3.2% through 10:10 a.m. ET Tuesday on some disconcerting news out of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In a trio of stock filings Monday, AST advised that certain of its shareholders intend to sell at least 60,296, and possibly as many as 56.1 million shares of AST stock.
AST’s SEC news
The stock filings in question, all listed on the SEC’s EDGAR website, are as follows:
- A Form S-3 registration statement informs that “from time to time” and “in connection with the Rakuten Reorganization … certain … Selling Stockholders” plan to resell 56.1 million shares of AST.
- A Form 144 notice of proposed sale informs that AST Chief Operating Officer Shanti Gupta will sell 24,425 shares of AST, received six months ago as the result of restricted stock vesting.
- A second Form 144 informs that AST President Scott Wisniewski will sell 35,871, also received six months ago as restricted stock vesting.
What this means for AST SpaceMobile stock
Despite the high level of the executives doing the selling, the latter two sales aren’t particularly concerning, as these are essentially examples of employees turning noncash compensation into cash.
The S-3 filing is a bit more worrisome. Among the shareholders listed as intending to liquidate their entire ownership stakes in AST are AT&T Venture Investments, Alphabet‘s Google LLC, and Verizon Ventures, with only its partner Vodafone retaining any stake in the company.
Investors have to date considered AST’s lining up of big industry partners to resell its satellite communications services as a big mark in favor of AST stock, and indicative of industry support for the company’s technology — and its viability. The fact that the company’s two biggest backers in the U.S., AT&T and Verizon, may liquidate their stakes in AST suggests that this confidence might be misplaced.
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool recommends Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Public. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
