Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on VSAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $97.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Viasat in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.11.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of VSAT opened at $83.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -286.28 and a beta of 1.69. Viasat has a 12 month low of $14.00 and a 12 month high of $93.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Viasat will post -0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viasat news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total transaction of $25,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,082,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,083,012.96. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 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 value of $1,945,732.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 213,355 shares in the company, valued at $15,306,087.70. This represents a 11.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 438,275 shares of company stock worth $28,608,719 in the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VSAT. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Viasat by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,605 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,446 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,360 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its position in shares of Viasat by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 46,952 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Viasat by 1.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,145 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viasat Company 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.