Viasat Inc. $VSAT is 13D Management LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• 13D Management LLC cut its Viasat stake by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, but the stock still remained its third-largest holding, representing about 8.3% of the portfolio.
• Insiders were net sellers: CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares and Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares, with insiders disposing of 434,275 shares total over the last 90 days.
• Viasat missed earnings expectations in its latest quarter, posting an EPS of -$0.02 versus the expected $0.32, while revenue came in slightly below estimates at $1.17 billion.

13D Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,750 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 65,250 shares during the period. Viasat accounts for about 8.3% of 13D Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. 13D Management LLC owned 0.15% of Viasat worth $6,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Viasat by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,958 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $497,015,000 after buying an additional 1,289,024 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its stake in Viasat by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $85,338,000 after buying an additional 796,349 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Viasat by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,050,883 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $139,601,000 after buying an additional 743,696 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Viasat by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,713,581 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $108,808,000 after buying an additional 1,033,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,328,854 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $115,266,000 after purchasing an additional 273,369 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In related news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total value of $25,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,083,012.96. This represents a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total value of $172,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $759,000. This trade represents a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 434,275 shares of company stock valued at $28,359,079 in the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Viasat Trading Down 5.2%

VSAT opened at $62.45 on Wednesday. Viasat Inc. has a one year low of $12.40 and a one year high of $89.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of -215.34 and a beta of 1.71. The business's 50 day moving average price is $66.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 2.41.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.02) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.35 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VSAT. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. New Street Research began coverage on Viasat in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley Financial boosted 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. Barclays set a $49.00 target price on Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 target price on Viasat and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.13.

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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