Needham Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Needham Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 330,600 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 24,500 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC owned 0.24% of Viasat worth $11,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VSAT. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Viasat during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Viasat by 7,380.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,260 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on VSAT shares. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set 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. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays set a $49.00 price objective on Viasat in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Viasat presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.13.

Viasat Stock Performance

VSAT opened at $65.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.14 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.72 and a 200 day moving average of $50.83. Viasat Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.40 and a fifty-two week high of $89.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 2.41.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total value of $172,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,000. The trade was a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Stenbit sold 653 shares of the firm’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 $46,846.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,123,288.78. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 434,275 shares of company stock valued at $28,359,079 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.