Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Issues Earnings Results

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.20, FiscalAI reports. Viasat had a negative net margin of 13.11% and a negative return on equity of 6.37%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion.

Viasat Price Performance

VSAT stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,124,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,501,683. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of -7.75 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $33.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.43. Viasat has a fifty-two week low of $6.69 and a fifty-two week high of $40.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VSAT shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $23.00 target price (up from $10.00) on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.29.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In related news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 100,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $3,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 197,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,111,991. This trade represents a 33.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Viasat in the first quarter valued at about $105,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Viasat by 323.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,157 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 9,289 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Viasat during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $186,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 20.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,103 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 2,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Viasat in the second quarter valued at $201,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.