Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases New Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,898 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Viasat during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,863,374,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at about $830,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,902,000. South Dakota Investment Council boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 92.6% during the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 336,056 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,391,000 after purchasing an additional 161,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,423,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John P. Stenbit sold 616 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.46, for a total transaction of $46,483.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,841.64. The trade was a 49.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 223,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total value of $18,021,956.04. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 675,861 shares of company stock valued at $47,705,388. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VSAT shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.67.

Viasat Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ VSAT opened at $72.46 on Wednesday. Viasat Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.10 and a 12-month high of $93.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -301.92 and a beta of 1.72.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.64% and a positive return on equity of 1.44%. Viasat’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current 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.