Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New Investment in Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 74,734 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $636,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned 0.06% of Viasat as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the 4th quarter worth $99,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat in the fourth quarter valued at $109,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat in the fourth quarter valued at $135,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Viasat by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 175,924 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,497,000 after buying an additional 16,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the 4th quarter worth about $195,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $11.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.80. Viasat, Inc. has a one year low of $6.69 and a one year high of $26.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.41 and a beta of 1.38.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative return on equity of 8.37% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. On average, analysts predict that Viasat, Inc. will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Viasat from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.57.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In related news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $33,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Viasat Profile

Viasat, Inc provides broadband and communications products and services worldwide. The company's Satellite Services segment offers satellite-based fixed broadband services, including broadband internet access and voice over internet protocol services to consumers and businesses; in-flight entertainment and aviation software services to commercial airlines and private business jets; satellite-based connectivity services; mobile broadband services, including satellite-based internet services to energy offshore vessels, cruise ships, consumer ferries, and yachts; and energy services, which include ultra-secure solutions IP connectivity, bandwidth-optimized over-the-top applications, industrial internet-of-things big data enablement, and industry-leading machine learning analytics.