Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Down 7.8% – Should You Sell?

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s stock price was down 7.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $42.41 and last traded at $42.3790. Approximately 1,193,839 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 1,862,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Viasat from $25.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned 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 “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.63.

Viasat Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, November 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 11.40% and a negative return on equity of 3.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In related news, CAO Shawn Lynn Duffy sold 51,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $1,872,842.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,043.98. This represents a 89.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total value of $4,034,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,434,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,887,617.62. The trade was a 6.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 356,529 shares of company stock worth $13,105,888 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Viasat by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 1.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,145 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Viasat by 3.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 18,989 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA lifted its stake in shares of Viasat by 22.6% during the third quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 3,250 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Viasat by 2.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,838 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $904,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. 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.