Viasat Inc. $VSAT Position Raised by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Viasat Inc. by 4.1%, now owning approximately 0.90% of the company, worth $12.05 million.
• Viasat reported a quarterly earnings of $0.17 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of ($0.15) and achieving revenue of $1.17 billion.
• Several analysts have recently updated their ratings on Viasat, with a notable increase in price targets, including JPMorgan raising it from $10.00 to $23.00.

Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,156,547 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 45,602 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.90% of Viasat worth $12,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VSAT. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the first quarter valued at approximately $20,593,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 538.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,136,675 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $9,673,000 after purchasing an additional 958,706 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 6.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,646,644 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $152,618,000 after purchasing an additional 872,784 shares during the period. Tenzing Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,170,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 149.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 818,301 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Viasat Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.65. The company had a trading volume of 3,681,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,809,736. 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 one year low of $6.69 and a one year high of $33.85. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $21.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.42 and a beta of 1.27.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.