Pinnbrook Capital Management LP Invests $3.01 Million in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Pinnbrook Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 33,500 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,009,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Viasat by 483.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 109,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 90,680 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Viasat by 189.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 452,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $4,692,000 after buying an additional 296,612 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $14,443,000 after buying an additional 1,206,935 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 64.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 14,575 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VSAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, August 10th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.67.

Viasat Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of VSAT opened at $74.72 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $74.62 and its 200 day moving average is $63.23. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of -311.33 and a beta of 1.72. Viasat Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.10 and a 12-month high of $93.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) 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 business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In related news, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.41, for a total transaction of $249,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,136,855.99. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total transaction 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 671,861 shares of company stock valued at $47,405,788. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.