Baupost Group LLC MA Lowers Stock Holdings in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Baupost Group LLC MA reduced its holdings in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,190,728 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,000,000 shares during the period. Viasat comprises 3.2% of Baupost Group LLC MA’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Baupost Group LLC MA owned about 6.85% of Viasat worth $134,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Long Focus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $24,695,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Viasat during the first quarter worth $20,593,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Viasat by 96.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,680,387 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318,524 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Viasat by 673.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,935 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Viasat by 64.9% in 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. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other news, SVP Robert James Blair sold 2,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total value of $80,799.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,439,961.59. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.06, for a total value of $100,246.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,003,585.86. This represents a 9.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 105,049 shares of company stock worth $3,281,046 over the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up previously from $10.00) on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Viasat from $25.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viasat has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.75.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of VSAT stock opened at $34.96 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.07. Viasat Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.36 and a 12 month high of $43.59. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of -8.74 and a beta of 1.37.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, November 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.20. Viasat had a negative net margin of 11.40% and a negative return on equity of 3.65%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Viasat Profile

Viasat, Inc provides broadband and communications products and services worldwide. The company's Satellite Services segment offers satellite-based fixed broadband services, including broadband internet access and voice over internet protocol services to consumers and businesses; in-flight entertainment and aviation software services to commercial airlines and private business jets; satellite-based connectivity services; mobile broadband services, including satellite-based internet services to energy offshore vessels, cruise ships, consumer ferries, and yachts; and energy services, which include ultra-secure solutions IP connectivity, bandwidth-optimized over-the-top applications, industrial internet-of-things big data enablement, and industry-leading machine learning analytics.