PDT Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• PDT Partners LLC increased its holdings in Viasat Inc. by 37.9%, acquiring an additional 169,904 shares to own 618,502 shares worth approximately $6.45 million.
• Viasat's stock is currently rated with a consensus of "Hold" among analysts, with a price target range between $21.13 and $56.00.
• The company surpassed earnings expectations by reporting $0.17 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating the projected ($0.15) by $0.32.

PDT Partners LLC raised its holdings in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 37.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 618,502 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 169,904 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC owned about 0.48% of Viasat worth $6,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Viasat by 233.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,177 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its position in shares of Viasat by 74.7% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,836 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 2,412.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,728 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the first quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 46.4% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,367 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Viasat Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of VSAT traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $30.10. 3,755,706 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,667,246. The stock's 50-day moving average is $21.01 and its 200-day moving average is $13.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.11. Viasat Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.69 and a fifty-two week high of $33.85. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.52 and a beta of 1.27.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VSAT shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their target price on shares of Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.13.

Viasat Company 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.