Trexquant Investment LP Buys 35,199 Shares of Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Viasat Inc. by 7.7% during the first quarter, holding approximately 491,361 shares valued at about $5.12 million.
• Viasat's stock is currently down 0.6% and has a market cap of $4.34 billion with a 52-week range between $6.69 and $33.85.
• The company reported $1.17 billion in revenue for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and had adjusted earnings of $0.17 per share.

Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 491,361 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,199 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.38% of Viasat worth $5,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 233.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,177 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the 1st quarter worth $63,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 46.4% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,367 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the 4th quarter worth $93,000. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the 4th quarter worth $100,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viasat Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ VSAT traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $30.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,755,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,667,246. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.52 and a beta of 1.27. Viasat Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.69 and a fifty-two week high of $33.85.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Viasat had a negative net margin of 13.11% and a negative return on equity of 6.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VSAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. B. Riley reduced their target price on Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.13.

Viasat Company 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.