Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Viasat, with seven buy ratings, one strong buy, two holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $90.67, with recent targets ranging from $49 to $140.
• Viasat shares opened at $84.82 after gaining 5.5%, near the company’s 52-week high of $93.03. The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting a loss of $0.02 per share versus the anticipated $0.32 profit and revenue of $1.17 billion versus $1.20 billion expected.
• Insiders sold heavily over the past 90 days, disposing of 448,319 shares valued at approximately $29.4 million, while institutional investors own 86.05% of the stock.

Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $90.6667.

VSAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Barclays set a $49.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price objective on Viasat and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th.

Viasat Stock Up 5.5%

Shares of VSAT stock opened at $84.82 on Tuesday. Viasat has a 1 year low of $25.17 and a 1 year high of $93.03. The stock has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of -353.42 and a beta of 1.72. The business's fifty day moving average is $72.53 and its 200-day moving average is $61.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.64% and a positive return on equity of 1.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.02) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $1,945,732.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 213,355 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,306,087.70. This represents a 11.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.41, for a total transaction of $249,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,136,855.99. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 448,319 shares of company stock valued at $29,383,832. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the 4th quarter worth approximately $830,000. South Dakota Investment Council increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 336,056 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $15,391,000 after acquiring an additional 161,552 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 38,700 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 17,700 shares in the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 84,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,895,000 after acquiring an additional 42,000 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the 1st quarter valued at $2,757,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company's stock.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc NASDAQ: VSAT provides high‐capacity satellite broadband and wireless communications services to consumer, commercial and government customers worldwide. The company designs and operates satellite systems and network infrastructure to deliver secure, high-speed connectivity across remote and underserved regions, as well as managed networking solutions for enterprises and public sector agencies.

Viasat's product offerings include residential and enterprise satellite internet services, in-flight connectivity for commercial airlines and business jets, and secure networking platforms tailored to defense and intelligence users.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source