CIBC Asset Management Inc Purchases Shares of 12,459 Viasat Inc. $VSAT

CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 12,459 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $10.00) on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.29.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSAT opened at $47.58 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.51 and a 200 day moving average of $32.22. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.36 and a twelve month high of $48.90. The firm has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.90 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Insider Activity at Viasat

In related news, SVP Robert James Blair sold 2,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total value of $80,799.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 68,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,439,961.59. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.06, for a total transaction of $100,246.80. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 356,529 shares of company stock worth $13,105,888. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.