Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Raised to “Buy” at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $15.00 target price on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s target price suggests a potential upside of 53.37% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on VSAT. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viasat from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, February 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.57.

Viasat Stock Up 1.9 %

VSAT stock opened at $9.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 1.38. Viasat has a 52-week low of $6.69 and a 52-week high of $26.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.05.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $33,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,795,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in Viasat during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Viasat by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Viasat during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Viasat by 850.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 3,546 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viasat Company Profile

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.