Scientech Research LLC Acquires Shares of 76,596 Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC purchased 76,596 shares of Viasat Inc., valued at approximately $798,000, reflecting a 0.06% ownership in the company as of its latest filing.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Viasat, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by 1,951.4% during the first quarter.
• Viasat's shares recently traded at $30.10, with the company reporting better-than-expected earnings of $0.17 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate.

Scientech Research LLC bought a new stake in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 76,596 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $798,000. Scientech Research LLC owned about 0.06% of Viasat as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSAT. 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Viasat by 74.7% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Viasat by 2,412.3% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,728 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Viasat in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Viasat by 46.4% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,367 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on VSAT shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Viasat has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.13.

Viasat Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of Viasat stock traded down $1.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.55. 2,872,756 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,953,443. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.61 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $23.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.78. Viasat Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.69 and a 12-month high of $33.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during 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 company'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 earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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.