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

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.33.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Viasat from $31.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Viasat from $24.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Viasat from $28.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other Viasat news, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total transaction of $32,824.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 350,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,226,732.71. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Viasat by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 47,484 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 13,302 shares during the period. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 26,324 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 4,922 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 115.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 282,475 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,373,000 after acquiring an additional 151,590 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 400,320 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,780,000 after acquiring an additional 24,889 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Trading Up 5.0 %

Shares of VSAT opened at $8.89 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.85 and a beta of 1.34. Viasat has a twelve month low of $6.69 and a twelve month high of $26.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by ($0.53). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 8.73% and a negative return on equity of 7.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($6.16) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Viasat will post -2.64 earnings per share 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.