Royal Bank of Canada Sells 22,872 Shares of Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 20.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,670 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 22,872 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Viasat were worth $4,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Viasat by 189.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 452,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,692,000 after acquiring an additional 296,612 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Viasat by 673.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,935 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Viasat by 64.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,338 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 14,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 69.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 252,466 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 103,396 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of VSAT stock opened at $82.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.99. The company has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -345.42 and a beta of 1.72. Viasat Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.50 and a 1-year high of $93.03.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%.The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 1st. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Viasat and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other news, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $288,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 30,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,184,162.97. The trade was a 11.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John P. Stenbit sold 616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.46, for a total value of $46,483.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 634 shares in the company, valued at $47,841.64. This represents a 49.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 671,861 shares of company stock worth $47,405,788. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About Viasat

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.