Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,862 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 34,199 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.07% of Viasat worth $2,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 15.9% during 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. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Viasat by 2.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,838 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 5.7% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,370 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Viasat in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of VSAT stock opened at $46.28 on Tuesday. Viasat Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.36 and a 1 year high of $49.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of -17.87 and a beta of 1.46.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its earnings results on Saturday, November 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 7.34% and a positive return on equity of 1.73%. Viasat’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VSAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Viasat has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.86.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In related news, SVP Robert James Blair sold 2,269 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 68,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,439,961.59. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 27,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,003,585.86. This trade represents a 9.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 359,339 shares of company stock worth $13,240,768 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Viasat Profile

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.