Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Price Target Raised to $105.00

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) had its price objective raised by Needham & Company LLC from $90.00 to $105.00 in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on VSAT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, July 17th. New Street Research initiated coverage on Viasat in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price target on Viasat and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viasat presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.78.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $80.38 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 2.19. Viasat has a fifty-two week low of $24.95 and a fifty-two week high of $93.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -334.92 and a beta of 1.72.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its 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). Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.64% and a positive return on equity of 1.44%. The firm 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 business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Viasat will post -0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In other Viasat news, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.46, for a total transaction of $181,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 21,159 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,658.14. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total value of $25,904,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,082,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,083,012.96. This represents a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 448,319 shares of company stock valued at $29,383,832. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Viasat in the second quarter worth $1,863,374,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 2,821.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,222,981 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $111,065,000 after buying an additional 3,112,670 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 673.7% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 64.9% in 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, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Viasat by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,307,187 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $96,890,000 after buying an additional 1,002,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% 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.