Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on VSAT. Oppenheimer started coverage on Viasat in a report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. New Street Research began coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 target price on shares of Viasat and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.11.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of Viasat stock opened at $83.02 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.60. 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 capitalization of $11.34 billion, a PE ratio of -286.28 and a beta of 1.69. Viasat has a 12 month low of $14.00 and a 12 month high of $93.03.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Viasat will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.41, for a total value of $249,640.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,136,855.99. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total value of $172,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,000. This trade represents a 18.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 438,275 shares of company stock worth $28,608,719. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at $830,000. Brightline Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 1.8% during the third quarter. Brightline Capital Management LLC now owns 2,036,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $59,655,000 after buying an additional 36,000 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the third quarter valued at about $7,325,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viasat in the third quarter valued at about $1,241,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Viasat by 797.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 117,019 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $4,032,000 after acquiring an additional 103,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Company 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.