Atom Investors LP Has $4.07 Million Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Atom Investors LP cut its Viasat stake by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 117,998 shares valued at about $4.07 million.
• Insiders have been selling shares: directors Richard A. Baldridge and Theresa Wise both reduced holdings, and insiders sold 434,275 shares worth about $28.4 million over the last three months.
• Viasat’s latest results missed expectations, with EPS of -$0.02 versus a $0.32 estimate and revenue of $1.17 billion versus $1.20 billion expected, though analysts remain mostly positive with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and $77.13 target.

Atom Investors LP lowered its stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 117,998 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 54,118 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP owned approximately 0.09% of Viasat worth $4,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Viasat by 8.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,958 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $497,015,000 after buying an additional 1,289,024 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 796,349 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Viasat by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,050,883 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $139,601,000 after acquiring an additional 743,696 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Viasat by 38.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,713,581 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $108,808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033,194 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Viasat by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,328,854 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $115,266,000 after acquiring an additional 273,369 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Viasat news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $1,945,732.28. Following the sale, the director directly owned 213,355 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,306,087.70. This represents a 11.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total transaction of $172,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $759,000. This represents a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 434,275 shares of company stock valued at $28,359,079. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of Viasat stock opened at $62.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.34 and a beta of 1.71. Viasat Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.40 and a 1-year high of $89.79. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $66.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.02.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.Viasat's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VSAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $97.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 target price on shares of Viasat and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their target price on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.13.

Viasat 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.

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