Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock Price Down 5.7% After Insider Selling

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) fell 5.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $58.41 and last traded at $58.7050. Approximately 739,454 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 1,975,399 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.23.

Specifically, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.41, for a total value of $249,640.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,239 shares in the company, valued at $2,136,855.99. The trade was a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VSAT. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. New Street Research began coverage on Viasat in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Viasat and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.12.

Viasat Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $67.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -204.78 and a beta of 1.71.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,605 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in Viasat by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,446 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Viasat by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,360 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 46,952 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 1.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,145 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% 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.