Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $11.17, but opened at $8.93. Viasat shares last traded at $9.24, with a volume of 3,731,604 shares changing hands.

Specifically, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $33,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VSAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Viasat from $24.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Viasat in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.43.

Viasat Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -2.70 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative return on equity of 8.28% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. Research analysts expect that Viasat, Inc. will post -2.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VSAT. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Viasat in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Viasat during the third quarter worth about $28,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 63.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,623 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Viasat by 176.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Viasat by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.