Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

VSAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Barclays set a $49.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.11.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of Viasat stock opened at $77.60 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $72.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -267.59 and a beta of 1.70. Viasat has a fifty-two week low of $15.27 and a fifty-two week high of $93.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.19.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) 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 firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.02) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Viasat will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other Viasat news, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total transaction of $172,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,000. This trade represents a 18.52% decrease in their position. 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total transaction of $25,904,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,082,196 shares in the company, valued at $70,083,012.96. This trade represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 442,803 shares of company stock worth $28,944,520. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its holdings in Viasat by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $85,338,000 after acquiring an additional 796,349 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Viasat by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,789,539 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,346,000 after purchasing an additional 738,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,328,854 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after purchasing an additional 273,369 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Viasat by 2,821.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,222,981 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $111,065,000 after purchasing an additional 3,112,670 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Viasat by 64.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

About Viasat

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.