Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Eight analysts give Viasat an average rating of "Moderate Buy" (six buys, one hold, one sell) with a 12‑month target of $60.57, while individual targets range from $51 (Morgan Stanley) to $94 (B. Riley) and one sell from Weiss Ratings.
• Insider selling: Senior VPs Benjamin Palmer and Robert Blair sold shares in March, and insiders have sold 38,071 shares worth about $1.8M over the last 90 days, leaving insiders with a 2.20% ownership stake.
• Institutional ownership and stock context: Institutions own 86.05% of the stock (Vanguard holds ~16.96M shares), and VSAT opened at $65.12—near its 12‑month high of $66.75—with a market cap of ~$8.85B and a negative PE of -25.14.

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.5714.

VSAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of Viasat from $52.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Viasat and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, January 16th.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other Viasat news, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.21, for a total transaction of $110,904.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,166.51. This trade represents a 8.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert James Blair sold 30,411 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.04, for a total value of $1,430,533.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,792,600.32. The trade was a 44.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 38,071 shares of company stock valued at $1,804,437 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Viasat by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,958 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $497,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,024 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 15.8% in the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $85,338,000 after acquiring an additional 796,349 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,050,883 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $139,601,000 after acquiring an additional 743,696 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 38.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,713,581 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $108,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Viasat by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,328,854 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $115,266,000 after purchasing an additional 273,369 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viasat Stock Down 1.2%

VSAT stock opened at $65.12 on Friday. Viasat has a twelve month low of $8.61 and a twelve month high of $66.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of -25.14 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.94 and a 200 day moving average of $43.27.

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.

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