Insider Selling: Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Director Sells 27,122 Shares of Stock

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Director Richard Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $1,945,732.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 213,355 shares in the company, valued at $15,306,087.70. The trade was a 11.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Viasat Trading Down 7.9%

Viasat stock traded down $5.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.18. The stock had a trading volume of 2,554,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,865,434. Viasat Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.01 and a twelve month high of $89.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of -231.66 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.16.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VSAT shares. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. New Street Research started coverage on Viasat in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Barclays set a $49.00 target price on Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.13.

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.