Guggenheim Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 253.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,236 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 41,751 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Viasat were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 850.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in Viasat by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,473 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on VSAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Viasat from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viasat from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.57.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In related news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $33,750,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Viasat Stock Performance

VSAT stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $9.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,266,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,730,679. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.35. Viasat, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.69 and a 52-week high of $26.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -2.74 and a beta of 1.06.

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 return on equity of 8.37% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viasat, Inc. will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

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.