Cobalt Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Cobalt Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 100,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,446,000. Viasat accounts for about 1.5% of Cobalt Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Cobalt Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Viasat as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Viasat by 483.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 109,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 90,680 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Viasat by 189.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 452,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,692,000 after acquiring an additional 296,612 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Viasat by 673.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,935 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Viasat by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,338 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Viasat by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 14,575 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VSAT. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,000. This trade represents a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.50, for a total transaction of $290,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 38,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,772,327.50. The trade was a 9.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 434,275 shares of company stock valued at $28,359,079. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $64.55 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -222.59 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.23. Viasat Inc. has a one year low of $12.40 and a one year high of $89.79.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Viasat’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS. Research analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.