Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) SVP Sells $181,104.00 in Stock

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.46, for a total value of $181,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 21,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,658.14. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Viasat Stock Down 6.0%

NASDAQ:VSAT traded down $5.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.03. The stock had a trading volume of 4,019,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,142,785. Viasat Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.28 and a twelve month high of $93.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a PE ratio of -279.41 and a beta of 1.72.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. Viasat’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.28 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 935.3% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 352 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Viasat during the first quarter worth $25,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Viasat during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viasat during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat in the first quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VSAT shares. Zacks Research upgraded Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. New Street Research initiated coverage on Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, July 17th. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $49.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.78.

More Viasat News

Here are the key news stories impacting Viasat this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viasat reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.17 per share, exceeding the $0.10 consensus estimate and improving from a loss of $0.43 per share a year earlier. Lower interest expense helped narrow losses, while management reaffirmed its growth outlook. Viasat Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates Despite Lower Y/Y Revenues
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings call highlighted record awards for Viasat’s government-focused Direct Access to Technology business, improving cash flow, and two ViaSat-3 satellites nearing service. Expanded satellite capacity could support future growth in aviation, maritime and government markets. Viasat Q1 Earnings Call Centers on DAT Growth and ViaSat-3
• Neutral Sentiment: ViaSat-3 deployment progress and recent government contract wins have helped drive a 21.4% three-month rally, but investors are watching whether commercialization can translate the additional capacity into sustained revenue growth. Can Viasat’s Three-Month Rally Keep Climbing or Stall Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue of approximately $1.16 billion fell short of the roughly $1.20 billion analyst expectation and declined about 1.2% year over year. The revenue shortfall suggests that operational execution and demand growth remain uneven despite the EPS beat. Viasat Stock Hits the Brakes After Q1 Report
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and investors also question whether VSAT is priced too aggressively following its recent advance. Commercialization risk, intense competition and the company’s history of losses make the valuation more difficult to justify until ViaSat-3 growth becomes visible in reported results. Why ViaSat Stock Dropped After Earnings

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.