Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.6250.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $10.00) on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial raised Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Tuesday, January 13th.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In other news, insider Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.06, for a total value of $100,246.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Robert James Blair sold 2,269 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total transaction of $80,799.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 68,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,439,961.59. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 356,529 shares of company stock worth $13,105,888. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 15.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Viasat by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,145 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Viasat by 3.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 18,989 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 22.6% during the third quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 3,250 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 2.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,838 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSAT opened at $44.23 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.30. Viasat has a twelve month low of $7.36 and a twelve month high of $46.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.06 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

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

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.