Viasat Inc. $VSAT Shares Sold by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lowered its position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 45.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 299,459 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 247,816 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Viasat were worth $13,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 2.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,605 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in Viasat by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,446 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Viasat by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,360 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its position in Viasat by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 46,952 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Viasat by 1.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,145 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In other Viasat news, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total transaction of $172,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,000. The trade was a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total value of $25,904,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,196 shares in the company, valued at $70,083,012.96. This trade represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 438,803 shares of company stock worth $28,655,600 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Viasat Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of VSAT opened at $74.87 on Tuesday. Viasat Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.36 and a twelve month high of $93.03. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -258.17 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $72.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.48.

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). The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. Viasat’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VSAT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, July 17th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Viasat in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays set a $49.00 price objective on Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.11.

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.