Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday.

VSAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.57.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $9.73 on Friday. Viasat has a 12-month low of $6.69 and a 12-month high of $26.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $9.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of -2.90 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative return on equity of 8.37% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. Equities research analysts predict that Viasat will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total transaction of $32,824.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 350,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,226,732.71. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $33,750,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,158,006. The trade was a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in Viasat in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Viasat during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Viasat by 63.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,623 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Viasat in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc provides broadband and communications products and services worldwide. The company's Satellite Services segment offers satellite-based fixed broadband services, including broadband internet access and voice over internet protocol services to consumers and businesses; in-flight entertainment and aviation software services to commercial airlines and private business jets; satellite-based connectivity services; mobile broadband services, including satellite-based internet services to energy offshore vessels, cruise ships, consumer ferries, and yachts; and energy services, which include ultra-secure solutions IP connectivity, bandwidth-optimized over-the-top applications, industrial internet-of-things big data enablement, and industry-leading machine learning analytics.