Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on VSAT. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price target on Viasat and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, April 20th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Barclays set a $49.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.11.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSAT opened at $83.02 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.60. The company has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a PE ratio of -286.28 and a beta of 1.69. Viasat has a twelve month low of $14.00 and a twelve month high of $93.03.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Viasat will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viasat news, Director John P. Stenbit sold 653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $46,846.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,597 shares in the company, valued at $2,123,288.78. This trade represents a 2.16% 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, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total value of $25,904,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,082,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,083,012.96. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 438,275 shares of company stock valued at $28,608,719 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VSAT. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in Viasat by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,446 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in Viasat by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,360 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its holdings in Viasat by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 46,952 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Viasat by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,145 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.