Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 3,750,000 Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board has reduced its stake in Viasat Inc. by 43.9%, now holding approximately 4,795,334 shares worth about $49.97 million.
• Viasat recently received positive ratings changes, with Needham & Company raising its price objective from $16 to $25, while five analysts rated the stock as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $21.13.
• Viasat's earnings report revealed a beat on estimates, reporting an EPS of $0.17 against a consensus of ($0.15), with revenue rising by 4.0% compared to the previous year.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lessened its holdings in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 43.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,795,334 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 3,750,000 shares during the period. Viasat comprises approximately 0.7% of Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board owned about 3.71% of Viasat worth $49,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VSAT. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Viasat by 233.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,177 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 2,224 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Viasat by 850.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 3,546 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Viasat in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Viasat in the first quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Viasat by 46.4% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,367 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of Viasat stock traded down $0.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,237,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,172,444. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.11. The business's fifty day moving average price is $14.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.34. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.55 and a beta of 1.20. Viasat Inc. has a one year low of $6.69 and a one year high of $28.59.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on VSAT shares. Wall Street Zen raised Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Thursday. 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. William Blair raised Viasat from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Viasat 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.