Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Trading Down 4.9% – What’s Next?

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s share price was down 4.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $9.92 and last traded at $9.91. Approximately 585,875 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 2,614,341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VSAT shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viasat from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.57.

Viasat Stock Down 10.1 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -2.75 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

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

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 on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $33,750,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its holdings in Viasat by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,419,223 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $52,766,000 after purchasing an additional 969,942 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Viasat by 538.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,136,675 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,673,000 after purchasing an additional 958,706 shares in the last quarter. Tenzing Global Management LLC acquired a new position in Viasat during the fourth quarter worth about $7,170,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Viasat by 149.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,365,194 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,618,000 after acquiring an additional 818,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its position in Viasat by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,044,364 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $42,912,000 after buying an additional 700,533 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Company 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.