Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its shareholding in Viasat Inc. by 26.4%, owning approximately 1.85% of the company, valued at $24.85 million.
• Several large investors, including Wells Fargo and Sterling Capital Management, have also adjusted their positions in Viasat, indicating increasing institutional interest in the stock.
• Viasat reported a quarterly earnings surprise, posting $0.17 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.32, along with a revenue of $1.17 billion.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,384,942 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 497,405 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.85% of Viasat worth $24,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VSAT. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 135,732 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 13,843 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 246,044 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 4,721 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 850.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 3,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $682,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Stock Down 0.4%

VSAT opened at $25.97 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.24. Viasat Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.69 and a twelve month high of $28.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.62 and a beta of 1.20.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.32. Viasat had a negative net margin of 13.11% and a negative return on equity of 6.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Viasat 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.

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