Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 74,200 Shares of Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its position in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,330,600 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 74,200 shares during the quarter. Viasat accounts for about 1.6% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Viasat were worth $45,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brightline Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viasat by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brightline Capital Management LLC now owns 2,036,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $59,655,000 after acquiring an additional 36,000 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the third quarter worth $4,230,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the third quarter worth $7,325,000. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viasat in the third quarter worth approximately $4,498,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viasat in the second quarter worth approximately $201,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VSAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Viasat from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Viasat from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.43.

Viasat Stock Performance

Viasat stock opened at $62.85 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.27 and a beta of 1.45. Viasat Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.95 and a fifty-two week high of $64.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Craig Andrew Miller sold 5,260 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $263,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 21,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,600. This trade represents a 19.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Robert James Blair sold 30,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 40,881 shares of company stock worth $1,939,317 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Company Profile

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.