Insider Selling: Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Director Sells $46,881.12 in Stock

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Director John Stenbit sold 528 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.79, for a total value of $46,881.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,106.38. This trade represents a 42.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of VSAT opened at $74.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Viasat Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.00 and a 52-week high of $93.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.22. The company has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of -255.17 and a beta of 1.70.

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 firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.02) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its stake in Viasat by 15.8% in the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $85,338,000 after purchasing an additional 796,349 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Viasat by 18.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,789,539 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $219,346,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Viasat by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,328,854 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $115,266,000 after buying an additional 273,369 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Viasat by 2,821.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,222,981 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $111,065,000 after buying an additional 3,112,670 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Viasat by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,866,000 after buying an additional 1,128,338 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, April 20th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. New Street Research initiated coverage on Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research report 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 assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.11.

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.