Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 301,257 Shares of Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Viasat Inc. by 581.1% in Q1, acquiring a total of 353,100 shares valued at approximately $3.68 million.
• Viasat reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.17, surpassing analysts' expectations of ($0.15), with revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter.
• Analysts have generally given Viasat a Hold rating, with price targets ranging from $10.00 to $25.00, reflecting mixed outlooks on the stock's performance.

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 581.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 353,100 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 301,257 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Viasat worth $3,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Viasat during the first quarter valued at about $378,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Viasat by 69.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 252,466 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,631,000 after buying an additional 103,396 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Viasat by 6.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,357,000 after buying an additional 14,575 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Viasat during the first quarter valued at about $2,278,000. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP grew its position in Viasat by 117.2% during the first quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP now owns 40,492 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 21,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Viasat Price Performance

VSAT traded up $2.37 on Monday, reaching $32.92. The company had a trading volume of 4,839,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,953,443. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.95. Viasat Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.69 and a 52-week high of $33.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.11. The company has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.13 and a beta of 1.26.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.32. Viasat had a negative return on equity of 6.37% and a negative net margin of 13.11%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viasat news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $3,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 197,161 shares in the company, valued at $6,111,991. This trade represents a 33.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VSAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Thursday, August 7th. William Blair reaffirmed 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 report on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.13.

Viasat 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.