Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Down 5.3% – Should You Sell?

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) shares fell 5.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $70.30 and last traded at $70.0980. Approximately 1,413,289 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 2,106,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays set a $49.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s 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 Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -241.87 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total transaction of $172,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,136,855.99. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 438,803 shares of company stock valued at $28,655,600. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VSAT. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Viasat during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Viasat by 935.3% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 352 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, EFG International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors 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.