Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Makes New $1.23 Million Investment in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 42,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat during the third quarter worth about $28,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the second quarter worth about $43,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Viasat by 331.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,779 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 3,671 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $47.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.90 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.22. Viasat Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.36 and a 12 month high of $48.90.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, November 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Viasat had a negative return on equity of 3.65% and a negative net margin of 11.40%.Viasat’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up previously from $10.00) on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Viasat has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.29.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In other Viasat news, SVP Robert James Blair sold 2,269 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total transaction of $80,799.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,439,961.59. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Shawn Lynn Duffy sold 51,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $1,872,842.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,021 shares in the company, valued at $219,043.98. This represents a 89.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 356,529 shares of company stock worth $13,105,888. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc (NASDAQ: VSAT) provides high?capacity satellite broadband and wireless communications services to consumer, commercial and government customers worldwide. The company designs and operates satellite systems and network infrastructure to deliver secure, high-speed connectivity across remote and underserved regions, as well as managed networking solutions for enterprises and public sector agencies.

Viasat’s product offerings include residential and enterprise satellite internet services, in-flight connectivity for commercial airlines and business jets, and secure networking platforms tailored to defense and intelligence users.