Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.20 EPS

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.20, FiscalAI reports. Viasat had a negative net margin of 13.11% and a negative return on equity of 6.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Viasat Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of VSAT traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $35.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,137,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,501,799. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.75 and a beta of 1.24. Viasat has a 52 week low of $6.69 and a 52 week high of $40.47. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 100,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $3,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 197,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,111,991. This trade represents a 33.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 323.3% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 34,282 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 26,183 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Viasat by 5.8% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 290,197 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $4,237,000 after acquiring an additional 15,947 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Viasat by 323.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,157 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 9,289 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Viasat in the second quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 31.5% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 30,214 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 7,230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on VSAT shares. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $10.00) on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.29.

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.