Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.17.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VSAT shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Viasat from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Viasat from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Viasat from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 2,811,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total transaction of $55,947,695.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,545,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,052,146.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,184,209 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $340,549,000 after purchasing an additional 286,872 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in Viasat by 1,752.3% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 159,355 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,883,000 after acquiring an additional 150,752 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Viasat by 11.2% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,145 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 12.2% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 44,886 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 4,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Viasat by 23.2% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 70,622 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 13,304 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viasat Stock Up 6.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $13.57 on Tuesday. Viasat has a 52-week low of $11.76 and a 52-week high of $29.11. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of -1.55 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 3.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.05 and a 200-day moving average of $16.55.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.16. Viasat had a negative return on equity of 19.76% and a negative net margin of 22.13%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.83) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Viasat will post -1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.