Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Director Richard Baldridge Sells 223,542 Shares

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Director Richard 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 transaction of $18,021,956.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Viasat Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Viasat stock opened at $84.52 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of -352.17 and a beta of 1.72. Viasat Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.50 and a 1-year high of $93.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted 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 positive return on equity of 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position 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 raised its stake in Viasat by 189.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 452,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,692,000 after purchasing an additional 296,612 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Viasat by 673.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $14,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,935 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Viasat by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,338 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Viasat by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after buying an additional 14,575 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer started coverage on Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, July 17th. New Street Research began coverage on Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 target price on shares of Viasat and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viasat has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.67.

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.