Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 1st. New Street Research began coverage on Viasat in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.67.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of Viasat stock opened at $84.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -353.42 and a beta of 1.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.12. Viasat has a fifty-two week low of $25.17 and a fifty-two week high of $93.03.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.02) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Viasat will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In related news, Director John P. Stenbit sold 616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.46, for a total value of $46,483.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,841.64. This represents a 49.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total value of $288,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,239 shares in the company, valued at $2,184,162.97. The trade was a 11.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 448,319 shares of company stock valued at $29,383,832 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Viasat in the second quarter worth $1,863,374,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 2,821.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,222,981 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $111,065,000 after purchasing an additional 3,112,670 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,206,935 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,128,338 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Viasat by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,307,187 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $96,890,000 after buying an additional 1,002,737 shares in the last quarter. 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.