Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.6667.

A number of brokerages have commented on VSAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, July 17th. New Street Research initiated coverage on Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays set a $49.00 price target on Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In other Viasat news, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.69, for a total value of $211,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $931,590. This represents a 18.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was 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 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 448,319 shares of company stock worth $29,383,832. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viasat during the 4th quarter worth $830,000. South Dakota Investment Council increased its holdings in Viasat by 92.6% during the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 336,056 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $15,391,000 after buying an additional 161,552 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in Viasat by 84.3% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 38,700 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 17,700 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. raised its position in Viasat by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 84,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,895,000 after acquiring an additional 42,000 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Viasat in the first quarter valued at about $2,757,000. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Stock Up 5.5%

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

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 the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.64% and a positive return on equity of 1.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.28 earnings per share 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.