Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Now Covered by Oppenheimer

Key Points

• Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Viasat with an “outperform” rating and a $140 price target, implying roughly 96% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with Viasat carrying an average “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $84.11, though opinions vary widely across firms.
• Viasat recently reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates, even as the stock rose to $71.35 on Monday amid heavy analyst attention.

Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) in a report released on Monday. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $140.00 price target on the communications equipment provider's stock. Oppenheimer's target price would suggest a potential upside of 96.22% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on VSAT. New Street Research initiated coverage on Viasat in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays set a $49.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price objective on Viasat and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Viasat currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.11.

Viasat Price Performance

VSAT traded up $9.40 on Monday, reaching $71.35. 398,475 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,997,955. Viasat has a twelve month low of $14.00 and a twelve month high of $89.79. The stock has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of -245.44 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $68.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.63.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other news, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.41, for a total value of $249,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,136,855.99. The trade was a 10.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $1,945,732.28. Following the sale, the director owned 213,355 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,306,087.70. This represents a 11.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 438,275 shares of company stock valued at $28,608,719. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VSAT. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,605 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in Viasat by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,446 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,360 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its position in Viasat by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 46,952 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Viasat by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,145 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Viasat Company Profile

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.