Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on VSAT. Barclays raised their target price on Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.57.

Viasat Price Performance

NASDAQ VSAT opened at $8.77 on Thursday. Viasat has a fifty-two week low of $6.69 and a fifty-two week high of $26.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $9.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 1.35.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 8.37%. On average, analysts anticipate that Viasat will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $33,750,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total value of $32,824.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 350,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,226,732.71. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Helium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Viasat by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 19,715 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Viasat by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 149,070 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 44,804 shares in the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Viasat by 2,262.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 539,534 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,591,000 after purchasing an additional 516,700 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.