Bank of New York Mellon Corp Takes $80.12 Million Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon initiated an $80.1 million Viasat position by purchasing 892,155 shares, representing approximately 0.65% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 86.05% of Viasat.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.67, compared with the stock’s reported price of $72.46.
• Viasat’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations: the company reported a $0.02 per-share loss and $1.17 billion in revenue, while insiders sold roughly $47.7 million of stock over the prior three months.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 892,155 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $80,124,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.65% of Viasat as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its position in shares of Viasat by 15.8% during 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 8.9% during the fourth 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Viasat by 2,821.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,222,981 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $111,065,000 after purchasing an additional 3,112,670 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 64.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $29,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VSAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on Viasat in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Viasat from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, New Street Research started coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.67.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSAT opened at $72.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a PE ratio of -301.92 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.68. Viasat Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.10 and a fifty-two week high of $93.03. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $74.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.80.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.64% and a positive return on equity of 1.44%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total value of $299,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,965,301.10. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 223,542 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total value of $18,021,956.04. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 675,861 shares of company stock worth $47,705,388. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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