Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on VSAT. New Street Research assumed coverage on Viasat in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price target on Viasat and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 1st. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $49.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Viasat presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.11.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $77.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -267.59 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.22. Viasat has a fifty-two week low of $15.27 and a fifty-two week high of $93.03. 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) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $1,945,732.28. Following the sale, the director directly owned 213,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,306,087.70. This represents a 11.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total value of $288,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,184,162.97. The trade was a 11.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 442,803 shares of company stock valued at $28,944,520 in the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VSAT. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 15.8% during the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $85,338,000 after acquiring an additional 796,349 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Viasat by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,789,539 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $219,346,000 after purchasing an additional 738,656 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,328,854 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $115,266,000 after buying an additional 273,369 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $29,866,000 after buying an additional 1,128,338 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.