Empowered Funds LLC Sells 44,307 Shares of Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 10.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 384,400 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 44,307 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Viasat were worth $17,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Viasat in the fourth quarter worth $830,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 84.3% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 38,700 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 17,700 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 797.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 117,019 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,032,000 after purchasing an additional 103,981 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 84,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,895,000 after purchasing an additional 42,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the 1st quarter worth about $2,757,000. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer began coverage on Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other Viasat news, Director John P. Stenbit sold 653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $46,846.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 29,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,123,288.78. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total transaction of $25,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,083,012.96. This represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 442,803 shares of company stock valued at $28,944,520 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Viasat Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ VSAT opened at $74.13 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.73. Viasat Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.50 and a 12 month high of $93.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -255.62 and a beta of 1.70.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.Viasat’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.