Neuberger Berman Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its ownership in Viasat Inc. by 2.9%, holding over 5 million shares valued at approximately $53.9 million.
• Viasat reported earnings of $0.17 EPS for the most recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue reached $1.17 billion.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Viasat, with several brokerages adjusting their price targets and rating classifications, leading to an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.13.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,190,232 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 145,868 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 4.02% of Viasat worth $53,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $2,858,000 after acquiring an additional 63,020 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the 1st quarter valued at $20,593,000. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 81.8% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 25,495 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 11,474 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 417.0% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 769,857 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $8,022,000 after acquiring an additional 620,947 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 213,284 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,222,000 after acquiring an additional 62,759 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Stock Performance

VSAT traded down $0.25 on Friday, reaching $27.10. 2,530,394 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,540,445. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of -5.87 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50-day moving average price is $16.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.90. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.69 and a fifty-two week high of $28.59.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 6.37% and a negative net margin of 13.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VSAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. B. Riley lowered their price objective on Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.13.

About Viasat

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.