Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.75.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $10.00) on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Viasat from $25.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other Viasat news, insider Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.06, for a total transaction of $100,246.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,003,585.86. This represents a 9.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert James Blair sold 2,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total transaction of $80,799.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 68,519 shares in the company, valued at $2,439,961.59. This trade represents a 3.21% 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 256,529 shares of company stock worth $9,071,888. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 15.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Viasat by 1.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,145 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Viasat by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 18,989 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA raised its position in Viasat by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 3,250 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Viasat by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,838 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viasat Trading Up 9.2%

NASDAQ VSAT opened at $37.63 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.41 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Viasat has a one year low of $7.36 and a one year high of $43.59.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, November 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. Viasat had a negative return on equity of 3.65% and a negative net margin of 11.40%.The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.