Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Has $9.01 Million Stock Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 196,761 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 13,927 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Viasat were worth $9,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Viasat by 483.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 109,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after buying an additional 90,680 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viasat by 189.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 452,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,692,000 after acquiring an additional 296,612 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Viasat by 673.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $14,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,935 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Viasat by 64.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,338 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Viasat by 6.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 14,575 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viasat Trading Down 5.5%

NASDAQ VSAT opened at $69.54 on Tuesday. Viasat Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.00 and a 12 month high of $93.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.71 and a 200-day moving average of $55.98. The company has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a PE ratio of -239.79 and a beta of 1.70.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total transaction of $25,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,083,012.96. This trade represents a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $1,945,732.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 213,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,306,087.70. This represents a 11.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 438,803 shares of company stock valued at $28,655,600 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.11.

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.