The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys Shares of 71,105 Viasat Inc. $VSAT

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 71,105 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,386,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.05% of Viasat as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,863,374,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter worth $830,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the second quarter worth $11,902,000. South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 92.6% in the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 336,056 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $15,391,000 after acquiring an additional 161,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat in the second quarter valued at $5,423,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.69, for a total value of $211,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $931,590. This represents a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the 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 $181,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 21,159 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,658.14. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 675,861 shares of company stock valued at $47,705,388 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on VSAT shares. Zacks Research raised Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. New Street Research began coverage on Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viasat from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.67.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of VSAT stock opened at $67.37 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -280.71 and a beta of 1.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Viasat Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.10 and a 12 month high of $93.03.

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

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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