Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) CEO Mark Dankberg Sells 400,000 Shares

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) CEO Mark Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $70,083,012.96. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Viasat Price Performance

VSAT stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.94. 2,746,046 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,648,996. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.81. The company has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.48 and a beta of 1.71. Viasat Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.31 and a twelve month high of $89.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VSAT. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Viasat and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brightline Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 1.8% in the third quarter. Brightline Capital Management LLC now owns 2,036,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $59,655,000 after purchasing an additional 36,000 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter valued at about $830,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the third quarter valued at about $7,325,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 52.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 647,168 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,962,000 after purchasing an additional 222,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the third quarter valued at about $1,241,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.