Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.8571.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VSAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial upgraded Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 6th.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In related news, CAO Shawn Lynn Duffy sold 51,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $1,872,842.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,043.98. This trade represents a 89.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Camellia E. Fitzgerald sold 2,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $134,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,946 shares in the company, valued at $477,408. This trade represents a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 354,290 shares of company stock valued at $13,059,722. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. OCO Capital Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Viasat by 60.0% during the second quarter. OCO Capital Partners L.P. now owns 6,000,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $87,600,000 after buying an additional 2,250,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 12,255.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,404,800 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $41,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,430 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Viasat by 96.8% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Viasat by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,958 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $497,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in 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. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viasat Stock Performance

VSAT opened at $48.85 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Viasat has a 12-month low of $7.36 and a 12-month high of $49.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of -18.86 and a beta of 1.46.

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.