Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $86.16, but opened at $77.39. Viasat shares last traded at $81.57, with a volume of 443,005 shares.

Specifically, Director John P. Stenbit sold 616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.46, for a total transaction of $46,483.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,841.64. This represents a 49.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.46, for a total value of $181,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 21,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,658.14. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VSAT shares. 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. Zacks Research upgraded Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. New Street Research initiated coverage on Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 target price on Viasat and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.78.

Viasat Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a PE ratio of -340.38 and a beta of 1.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $72.30 and its 200-day moving average is $60.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%.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 company earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Viasat by 483.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 109,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 90,680 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Viasat by 189.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 452,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $4,692,000 after purchasing an additional 296,612 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,206,935 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Viasat by 64.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,866,000 after buying an additional 1,128,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 6.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,357,000 after buying an additional 14,575 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is 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.