Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

Key Points

• Needham raised Viasat’s price target from $90 to $105 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 29.51% upside from the reported $81.07 share price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: Viasat has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $85.78, with targets ranging from $49 to $140.
• Shares fell 5.9% in Wednesday trading, while the company’s latest reported quarter missed EPS and revenue expectations. Insiders have sold about $28.9 million of stock over the past 90 days, although institutional investors own 86.05% of shares.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $90.00 to $105.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the communications equipment provider's stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price suggests a potential upside of 29.51% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on VSAT. Barclays set a $49.00 price objective on Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.78.

Viasat Stock Down 5.9%

VSAT traded down $5.09 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.07. The company had a trading volume of 3,471,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,135,995. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.48 and a 200-day moving average of $60.06. The company has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of -279.57 and a beta of 1.72. Viasat has a 1-year low of $21.28 and a 1-year high of $93.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.19.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.02) EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Viasat will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other Viasat news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $1,945,732.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 213,355 shares in the company, valued at $15,306,087.70. This trade represents a 11.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $288,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,184,162.97. This trade represents a 11.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 442,803 shares of company stock valued at $28,944,520 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSAT. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Viasat in the 4th quarter worth about $830,000. South Dakota Investment Council grew its stake in Viasat by 92.6% during 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 grew its stake in Viasat by 84.3% during 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. increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 100.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 42,000 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the first quarter worth approximately $2,757,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Viasat

Here are the key news stories impacting Viasat this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viasat reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.17 per share, exceeding the $0.10 consensus estimate and improving from a loss of $0.43 per share a year earlier. Lower interest expense helped narrow losses, while management reaffirmed its growth outlook. Viasat Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates Despite Lower Y/Y Revenues
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings call highlighted record awards for Viasat’s government-focused Direct Access to Technology business, improving cash flow, and two ViaSat-3 satellites nearing service. Expanded satellite capacity could support future growth in aviation, maritime and government markets. Viasat Q1 Earnings Call Centers on DAT Growth and ViaSat-3
• Neutral Sentiment: ViaSat-3 deployment progress and recent government contract wins have helped drive a 21.4% three-month rally, but investors are watching whether commercialization can translate the additional capacity into sustained revenue growth. Can Viasat’s Three-Month Rally Keep Climbing or Stall Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue of approximately $1.16 billion fell short of the roughly $1.20 billion analyst expectation and declined about 1.2% year over year. The revenue shortfall suggests that operational execution and demand growth remain uneven despite the EPS beat. Viasat Stock Hits the Brakes After Q1 Report
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and investors also question whether VSAT is priced too aggressively following its recent advance. Commercialization risk, intense competition and the company’s history of losses make the valuation more difficult to justify until ViaSat-3 growth becomes visible in reported results. Why ViaSat Stock Dropped After Earnings

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

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

Add As Preferred Source