Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Trims Stake in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Lee Danner & Bass Inc. trimmed its Viasat stake by 8.6% in Q4, selling 24,000 shares and leaving it with 254,500 shares worth about $8.77 million.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 86.05%, with major funds adding to positions — notably Vanguard owns 16.96 million shares (~$497 million) and several other large managers materially increased holdings.
• Analysts have a consensus of Moderate Buy with an average target of $54.57, while shares recently opened around $61.99 and are trading near a one‑year high (~$64.98), indicating mixed valuation signals.

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. reduced its position in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 254,500 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 24,000 shares during the quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. owned 0.19% of Viasat worth $8,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Viasat by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,958 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $497,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,024 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its position in Viasat by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $85,338,000 after purchasing an additional 796,349 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Viasat by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,713,581 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $108,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,194 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Viasat by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,307,187 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $96,890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,737 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Viasat by 64.9% in the 1st 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 during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $61.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of -23.93 and a beta of 1.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $50.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.55. Viasat Inc. has a one year low of $8.53 and a one year high of $64.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other news, CAO Camellia E. Fitzgerald sold 2,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $134,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $477,408. This trade represents a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Craig Andrew Miller sold 5,260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $263,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 21,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,600. This represents a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 40,881 shares of company stock valued at $1,939,317 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VSAT shares. Barclays raised shares of Viasat from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Viasat from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 target price on shares of Viasat and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.57.

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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