Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 406.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 547,275 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 439,199 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Viasat were worth $18,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VSAT. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 7,380.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,244 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,260 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Price Performance

VSAT stock opened at $65.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.72 and a 200-day moving average of $50.83. Viasat Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.40 and a 12-month high of $89.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.14 and a beta of 1.70.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its quarterly 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 negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Viasat’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $1,945,732.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 213,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,306,087.70. This trade represents a 11.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Stenbit sold 653 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $46,846.22. Following the sale, the director owned 29,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,123,288.78. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 434,275 shares of company stock worth $28,359,079. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. New Street Research assumed coverage on Viasat in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Barclays set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Viasat and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viasat presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.13.

Viasat 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.