Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) reported **$0.08 earnings per share**, exceeding analysts' expectations by **$0.23**.
• Following the earnings release, shares of Viasat increased by **5%**, reaching a price of **$21.29** during trading.
• Institutional investors hold a significant stake in Viasat, with **86.05%** of the company's stock owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.32, Briefing.com reports. Viasat had a negative return on equity of 6.37% and a negative net margin of 13.11%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Viasat's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Viasat Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT traded down $0.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,237,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,172,444. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Viasat has a 12 month low of $6.69 and a 12 month high of $28.59. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $14.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of -5.55 and a beta of 1.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the 1st quarter valued at about $105,000. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Viasat by 20.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,103 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Viasat by 483.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 109,448 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 90,680 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Viasat by 6.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 14,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Viasat by 69.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 252,466 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 103,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, B. Riley cut their price objective on Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viasat has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.13.

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.