Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 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 lifted its stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 581.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 353,100 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VSAT. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Viasat by 1,951.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,955 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 21,836 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Viasat by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 149,070 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 44,804 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Viasat by 149.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,365,194 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $11,618,000 after acquiring an additional 818,301 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat in the first quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 29.8% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 274,250 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,858,000 after buying an additional 63,020 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $3,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 197,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,111,991. The trade was a 33.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Viasat Price Performance

Viasat stock traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $30.14. 4,958,466 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,091,894. Viasat Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.69 and a 52-week high of $34.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.33. 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 $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.52 and a beta of 1.27.

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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VSAT. Wall Street Zen raised Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. B. Riley cut their target price on Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Four research 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 an average 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.