VanEck Associates More Than Doubled Its Stake in AST SpaceMobile. Is Now a Smart Time to Buy Shares of the Satellite Manufacturer?

By Rich Smith – Mar 20, 2026 at 9:45AM ESTKey PointsInvestment manager VanEck Associates now owns nearly $70 million worth of AST SpaceMobile stock.Initial commercial activation of AST SpaceMobile's DTC satellite network could happen later this year.VanEck Associates increased its holdings of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS 1.03%) stock by 125% in Q3 2025, as MarketBeat reported last week. The NYC-based privately owned investment manager now owns 782,041 shares of the satellite telecommunications start-up, a stake worth $69.7 million. Sound impressive? It gets better (for VanEck). According to SEC filings, the company's AST SpaceMobile stake was only worth $38.4 million at the time it disclosed its purchases. That means VanEck has already made an 81% profit on AST in less than six months. Image source: Getty Images. Investors who've owned AST even longer have done even better. According to Yahoo! Finance data, AST stock has tripled over the last 12 months and is up 13.5 times over the last three years. Wall Street loves AST SpaceMobile Everyone loves a winner -- especially on Wall Street. As MarketBeat points out, institutional investors have flocked to AST stock, with companies including Vanguard, Invesco, and Dimensional Fund Advisors all significantly increasing their stakes. What's driving institutional investors to invest in AST SpaceMobile? Well, the company may have hit an inflection point last quarter. "For the first time in 2025, AST SpaceMobile became a revenue-generating business" in Q4, as CEO Abel Avellan boasted earlier this month. Although the company's satellites still aren't ready for commercial use, reported revenue surged to $70.9 million in 2025 on the strength of multiple U.S. government contracts. AST is promising further revenue growth this year from both its mobile telecommunications partners and its government contracts, and to start "initial commercial activation." AST just launched its sixth BlueBird satellite and plans to launch its seventh this month. Future launches will take place every month or two, and will carry more satellites per launch, such that AST will end 2026 with between 45 and 60 satellites in orbit, says the company. ExpandNASDAQ: ASTSAST SpaceMobileToday's Change(-1.03%) $-0.97Current Price$93.12Key Data PointsMarket Cap$28BDay's Range$92.51 - $96.9452wk Range$18.22 - $129.89Volume212KAvg Vol15MGross Margin-14399.31% Should you love AST SpaceMobile stock, too? AST's off to a slow start getting its satellites in orbit, no doubt. But if it delivers on its promises and goes from six BlueBirds in orbit (now) to 60 (in nine months), that should be plenty to support at least a "beta" opening of its direct-to-cell satellite service -- if not full-scale customer rollout. Even in this optimistic scenario, the cost of building the constellation won't permit AST to turn profitable this year. But by 2027, say analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, AST should earn its first profit -- and expanding past $1 a share in 2028. Do I think that AST SpaceMobile stock is a good bargain at $89 a share if it will only (and only maybe) earn a dollar per share two years from now? (Meaning, is 89 times earnings a fair value?) I do doubt that. Still, the company is closer than ever before to having a viable business now. If AST delivers on its promises this year, VanEck Associates' profits may only go up from here.Read NextMar 19, 2026 •By Adam SpataccoThis Space Stock Is Up 238% in the Past Year. Here's How it Stacks Up to the Competition.Mar 9, 2026 •By Johnny RiceThis $39 Billion Company Made Just $54.3 Million in the Last Year, but People Keep Buying It. Should You?Mar 7, 2026 •By Courtney CarlsenAlphabet Owns 8.9 Million Shares of This Hot Space Stock. Is It a Buy?Mar 5, 2026 •By Leo SunBetter Space Stock: AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB)Mar 4, 2026 •By Rich SmithWhy AST SpaceMobile Stock Popped TodayFeb 22, 2026 •By Brett SchaferWhere Will AST SpaceMobile Stock Be in 5 Years?About the AuthorRich Smith is a contributing Motley Fool defense and stock market analyst covering publicly traded and emerging companies in defense, space, aerospace, and other sectors. Prior to The Motley Fool, Rich practiced international corporate law for Clifford Chance in Russia, and for the Russian-Ukrainian Legal Group in Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington, D.C. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the College of William & Mary, a law degree from the University of Baltimore, and a language certification from the International Institute of Russian Language & Culture in Tver, Russian Federation. The Globe and Mail once featured him as “one of the best stock pickers since 2009.”TMFDittyX@RichSmithFoolStocks MentionedAST SpaceMobileNASDAQ: ASTS$93.22(-0.93%)-$0.87*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.