Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 63,020 Shares of Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Viasat Inc. by 29.8%, acquiring an additional 63,020 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 274,250 shares worth approximately $2.86 million.
• Viasat reported a quarterly earnings surprise with $0.17 earnings per share, surpassing estimates of -$0.15, and had a revenue of $1.17 billion, compared to expectations of $1.13 billion.
• Despite the recent positive earnings report, Viasat's stock has declined by 4.8%, with a recent trading price around $26.08.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 29.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 274,250 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 63,020 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.21% of Viasat worth $2,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mariner LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter worth about $682,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Viasat by 1,951.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,955 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 21,836 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Viasat by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 149,070 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 44,804 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Viasat by 149.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,365,194 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $11,618,000 after purchasing an additional 818,301 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the 4th quarter valued at $159,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Viasat Price Performance

NASDAQ:VSAT traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.93. The stock had a trading volume of 4,936,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,596,949. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.05 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.48. 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 one year low of $6.69 and a one year high of $28.59.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.13 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 13.11% and a negative return on equity of 6.37%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VSAT shares. B. Riley decreased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Viasat from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Viasat has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.