Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $84.1111.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VSAT shares. Zacks Research cut Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 target price on shares of Viasat and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their price target on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th.

Viasat Price Performance

NASDAQ VSAT opened at $68.71 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -236.93 and a beta of 1.70. Viasat has a 52-week low of $14.00 and a 52-week high of $93.03.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Viasat will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total value of $25,904,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,083,012.96. This represents a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 John P. Stenbit sold 528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.79, for a total transaction of $46,881.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 722 shares in the company, valued at $64,106.38. This trade represents a 42.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 438,803 shares of company stock worth $28,655,600 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VSAT. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Viasat by 4.4% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,940 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Viasat by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,605 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Viasat by 935.3% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 352 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its position in Viasat by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,446 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Viasat by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,360 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% 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.