Compass Financial Management LLC Takes $2.52 Million Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Compass Financial Management initiated a $2.52 million position in Viasat during the second quarter by purchasing 28,218 shares. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.05% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.67; recent targets range from $95 to $140.
• Viasat’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, reporting a $0.02 per-share loss versus the anticipated $0.32 profit and revenue of $1.17 billion. Shares recently opened at $74.72, while insiders sold approximately $47.4 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 28,218 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,517,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,863,374,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 2,821.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 673.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $14,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,935 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $29,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,338 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Viasat by 43.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,307,187 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $96,890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,737 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Viasat news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total value of $25,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,196 shares in the company, valued at $70,083,012.96. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.41, for a total transaction of $249,640.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,239 shares in the company, valued at $2,136,855.99. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 671,861 shares of company stock worth $47,405,788 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on VSAT. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, August 10th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.67.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of VSAT stock opened at $74.72 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $74.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.23. Viasat Inc. has a one year low of $26.10 and a one year high of $93.03. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -311.33 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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