Viasat Inc. $VSAT Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers reduced its stake in Viasat Inc. by 4.4%, now owning 0.24% of the company, valued at approximately $3.18 million.
• Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 100,000 shares of Viasat for about $3.1 million, representing a significant decrease in his position.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Viasat, with price targets ranging from $16.00 to $56.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $21.13.

Rhumbline Advisers decreased its position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 305,287 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 14,184 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.24% of Viasat worth $3,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 1,951.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,955 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 21,836 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted 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 during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake 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 worth $11,618,000 after purchasing an additional 818,301 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Viasat in the 1st quarter worth about $159,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Viasat by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 274,250 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,858,000 after purchasing an additional 63,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $3,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 197,161 shares in the company, valued at $6,111,991. The trade was a 33.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on VSAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note 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. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price objective on Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.43.

Viasat Trading Down 1.8%

VSAT stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.61. 13,359,016 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,272,438. Viasat Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.69 and a 52-week high of $34.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.41 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.71 and a 200-day moving average of $15.48.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.