Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 11,750 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VSAT. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Viasat during the second quarter worth $30,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Viasat by 935.3% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 352 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viasat during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on VSAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, July 17th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on Viasat in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.67.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of Viasat stock opened at $67.37 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Viasat Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.10 and a 12-month high of $93.03. The company has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -280.71 and a beta of 1.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.40.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its 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 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 firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Viasat’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viasat news, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 21,159 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,658.14. The trade was 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, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,000. The trade was a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 675,861 shares of company stock valued at $47,705,388 over the last three months. 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.