Equitable Holdings Inc. Purchases Shares of 51,773 Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Equitable Holdings purchased 51,773 Viasat shares worth approximately $4.65 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.05% of Viasat.
• Viasat insiders sold 675,861 shares valued at roughly $47.7 million over the past quarter, including a $18.0 million sale by director Richard A. Baldridge.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $90.67 price target, although Viasat recently missed quarterly EPS and revenue expectations.

Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 51,773 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,650,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Viasat by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,940 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Viasat by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,605 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 935.3% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 352 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,446 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 223,542 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total transaction of $18,021,956.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.46, for a total value of $181,104.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 21,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,658.14. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 675,861 shares of company stock worth $47,705,388 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Viasat from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.67.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSAT opened at $72.73 on Friday. Viasat Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.10 and a 1 year high of $93.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The company's 50-day moving average is $75.26 and its 200 day moving average is $64.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -303.04 and a beta of 1.72.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.02) earnings per share. Viasat's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current 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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