Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock Crosses Below 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s share price passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.19 and traded as low as $66.61. Viasat shares last traded at $67.72, with a volume of 1,279,314 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VSAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Viasat from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Viasat from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.56.

Viasat Stock Down 4.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.06 and a beta of 1.76.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.10. Viasat had a negative net margin of 2.07% and a negative return on equity of 0.05%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Viasat news, Director John P. Stenbit sold 705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.75, for a total transaction of $47,058.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,378.75. The trade was a 56.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Craig Miller sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.19, for a total transaction of $1,579,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,917,798.30. This trade represents a 35.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,098 shares of company stock valued at $3,593,911. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Viasat by 0.4% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 30,952 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,178,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 4.8% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,599 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 4.0% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,140 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 2.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,605 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 14.3% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,799 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc. is a global communications company that designs, develops and operates satellite and wireless communications systems. Its services support consumers, businesses, governments and other organizations that need connectivity in areas where terrestrial networks may be limited. The company provides satellite broadband for homes and businesses, in-flight connectivity for commercial and business aircraft, and communications services for maritime customers. Viasat also supplies secure communications, networking equipment and related services to government and defense customers.