Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 177.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 281,244 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 179,714 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.22% of Viasat worth $2,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Viasat by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Viasat by 850.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 3,546 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,473 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $33,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Viasat from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Viasat from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.57.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT traded down $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $9.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,898,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,757,110. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.31 and a 200 day moving average of $9.29. Viasat, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.69 and a 52-week high of $26.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 8.37%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Viasat, Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Viasat

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.