Billionaire David E. Shaw’s 10 Small-Cap Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential

2. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)

D. E. Shaw’s Equity Stake: $84.93 Million

Market Capitalization as of May 9: $8.39 Billion

Stock Upside Potential as of May 9: 55.17%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 22

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) is a communication equipment company that designs and develops the constellation of BlueBird satellites. It provides a cellular broadband network in space accessible directly by smartphones for commercial use, other applications, and government use. The stock has outperformed the overall market, going by the 19% year-to-date gain that affirms why it is one of billionaire David E. Shaw’s 10 small-cap stock picks with huge upside potential.

Amid the outperformance, Oppenheimer initiated coverage of the stock with a Perform rating. The bullish rating comes amid a confirmation that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) plans to have 243 of its BlueBird satellites in orbit by the end of 2028. It should have at least 100 satellites working in orbit by the end of next year.

The push for more satellites comes as the company needs as many as 90 satellites to be a genuine global service provider in the provision of cellular broadband networks. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) already boasts of solid Telco partners that rely on its services, including AT&T, Verizon, Rakuten, and Vodafone.