Robert James Blair Sells 30,411 Shares of Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) SVP Robert James Blair sold 30,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.04, for a total value of $1,430,533.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,792,600.32. This represents a 44.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Viasat Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of VSAT traded down $1.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,544,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,699,427. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Viasat Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.36 and a 12-month high of $51.00. The stock has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of -18.76 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.82 and its 200 day moving average is $37.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VSAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.86.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VSAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 8.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,958 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $497,015,000 after buying an additional 1,289,024 shares during the period. OCO Capital Partners L.P. raised its stake in Viasat by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. OCO Capital Partners L.P. now owns 6,000,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $87,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250,000 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its position in Viasat by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $85,338,000 after acquiring an additional 796,349 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,541,636 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $80,908,000 after purchasing an additional 351,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,050,883 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $139,601,000 after purchasing an additional 743,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.