Leonteq Securities AG Reduces Stock Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Leonteq Securities AG trimmed its holdings in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 71.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,224 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,621 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG’s holdings in Viasat were worth $193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VSAT. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Viasat in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. EFG International AG purchased a new position in Viasat in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Viasat during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 7,380.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,244 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,214 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of Viasat stock traded down $2.96 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 296,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,099,888. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.62. Viasat Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.00 and a fifty-two week high of $93.03. The firm has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a PE ratio of -278.76 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VSAT. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, April 20th. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Barclays set a $49.00 price objective on Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total value of $172,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $759,000. The trade was a 18.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $1,945,732.28. Following the sale, the director directly owned 213,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,306,087.70. This represents a 11.28% 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 438,803 shares of company stock valued at $28,655,600. Insiders own 2.20% 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.