Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) CFO Sells 4,000 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Viasat CFO Garrett Chase sold 4,000 shares at an average price of $58.86, generating $235,440 and reducing his ownership by 7.76% to 47,534 shares.
• VSAT shares traded near $59, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company beat quarterly EPS estimates but missed revenue expectations, while revenue declined 1.2% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 86.05% of Viasat, and analyst sentiment remains a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $90.67, despite ratings ranging from “Strong Buy” to “Sell.”

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) CFO Garrett Chase sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.86, for a total value of $235,440.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 47,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,797,851.24. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Viasat Price Performance

VSAT stock traded down $3.59 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $59.00. 2,311,466 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,041,464. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.59. Viasat Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.13 and a 1-year high of $93.03. The company has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -245.83 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%. The business's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Viasat during the 2nd quarter worth $1,863,374,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the 2nd quarter worth $127,283,000. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 229,857.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 965,820 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $86,740,000 after purchasing an additional 965,400 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 8,261.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 976,646 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $87,713,000 after purchasing an additional 964,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat during the second quarter worth $80,124,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VSAT has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viasat from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.67.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc is a communications technology company that provides satellite-based connectivity and related services to commercial, government and consumer customers. The company's offerings include high-speed broadband, satellite communications, network services and connectivity solutions designed for locations where terrestrial networks may be limited or unavailable.

Viasat serves the aviation, maritime, residential broadband, enterprise and government markets. Its services support in-flight internet for commercial and business aircraft, connectivity for ships and offshore operations, broadband access for homes and communities, and secure communications for government and defense customers.

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