Needham & Company LLC Increases Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Price Target to $58.00

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $45.00 to $58.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target indicates a potential upside of 24.52% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on VSAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 16th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viasat presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.71.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of Viasat stock opened at $46.58 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.95 and its 200 day moving average is $38.91. Viasat has a one year low of $7.36 and a one year high of $52.70. 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 market cap of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.98 and a beta of 1.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 100,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total value of $4,034,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,434,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,887,617.62. The trade was a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Camellia E. Fitzgerald sold 2,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $134,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,408. The trade was a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 140,881 shares of company stock worth $5,973,317 in the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Viasat by 8.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,958 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $497,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,024 shares during the last quarter. OCO Capital Partners L.P. grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 60.0% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $85,338,000 after buying an additional 796,349 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its position in shares of Viasat by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,541,636 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $80,908,000 after buying an additional 351,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,050,883 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $139,601,000 after acquiring an additional 743,696 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viasat Company 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.