Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

VSAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price target on Viasat and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, 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, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.11.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSAT opened at $77.60 on Wednesday. Viasat has a twelve month low of $15.27 and a twelve month high of $93.03. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -267.59 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.22.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In related news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $1,945,732.28. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 is available through this link. Also, Director John P. Stenbit sold 653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $46,846.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,597 shares in the company, valued at $2,123,288.78. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 442,803 shares of company stock valued at $28,944,520 in the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VSAT. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Viasat by 935.3% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 352 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, EFG International AG purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.