Sterling Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 50.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,467 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 13,858 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Viasat were worth $617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Viasat in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. EFG International AG purchased a new position in Viasat in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Viasat by 7,380.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,244 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,214 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viasat Stock Down 7.6%

Shares of NASDAQ VSAT opened at $83.02 on Thursday. Viasat Inc. has a one year low of $14.00 and a one year high of $93.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $69.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a PE ratio of -286.28 and a beta of 1.69.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In related news, Director John P. Stenbit sold 653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $46,846.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,123,288.78. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total transaction of $172,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,000. This represents a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 438,275 shares of company stock valued at $28,608,719. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VSAT shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.11.

Viasat 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.