Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.57.

VSAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Viasat from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $33,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,158,006. This represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Viasat by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat in the third quarter worth $28,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Viasat by 850.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 3,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Trading Down 4.8 %

NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $10.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.96. Viasat has a one year low of $6.69 and a one year high of $26.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.25 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.80.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative return on equity of 8.37% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. Equities analysts anticipate that Viasat will post -0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viasat Company Profile

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.