Caxton Associates LLP Purchases New Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has acquired a new stake in Viasat Inc., purchasing 218,612 shares valued at approximately $2.28 million, representing about 0.17% of the company's total shares.
• Following recent analyst ratings, Viasat's stock is currently rated as a "hold"** by several brokerages, with price targets ranging from $21.13 to $25.00.
• Viasat reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.17, surpassing expectations, with a revenue of $1.17 billion, up 4% year-over-year.

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 218,612 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,278,000. Caxton Associates LLP owned about 0.17% of Viasat as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Viasat by 233.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,177 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its position in Viasat by 74.7% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,836 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in Viasat by 2,412.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,728 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Viasat during the first quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in Viasat by 46.4% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,367 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on VSAT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. B. Riley reduced their price target on Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.13.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSAT traded down $1.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,872,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,953,443. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of -6.61 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.78. Viasat Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.69 and a 52 week high of $33.85.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Viasat had a negative return on equity of 6.37% and a negative net margin of 13.11%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 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.