Royal Bank of Canada Sells 22,872 Shares of Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its Viasat stake by 20.1% in the first quarter, selling 22,872 shares and retaining 90,670 shares worth approximately $4.15 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.05% of the company.
• Viasat reported quarterly revenue of $1.17 billion, up 2.1% year over year, but missed earnings expectations with a loss of $0.02 per share versus the $0.32 consensus estimate. Analysts expect a full-year loss of $0.36 per share.
• Insiders sold 671,861 shares worth roughly $47.4 million over the past 90 days, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $90.67.

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its position in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 20.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,670 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 22,872 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.07% of Viasat worth $4,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Viasat in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Viasat in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. EFG International AG acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other Viasat news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 223,542 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total transaction of $18,021,956.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John P. Stenbit sold 616 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.46, for a total transaction of $46,483.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,841.64. The trade was a 49.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 671,861 shares of company stock worth $47,405,788 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Viasat Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of VSAT stock opened at $82.90 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $73.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.99. Viasat Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.50 and a 1 year high of $93.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -345.42 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%.The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on Viasat in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price target on Viasat and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research raised Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their target price on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.67.

Viasat 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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