Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock: Insider Garrett Chase Sells 4,000 Shares

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) CFO Garrett Chase sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.86, for a total value of $235,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 47,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,797,851.24. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Viasat Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of VSAT opened at $61.47 on Friday. Viasat Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.13 and a 52 week high of $93.03. The firm has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -256.12 and a beta of 1.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.56. 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 (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Viasat by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 72.9% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,396 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 5,647 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the third quarter worth $38,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 34.1% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 6,766 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the third quarter worth $3,607,000. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VSAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on Viasat in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.67.

Viasat Company Profile

Viasat, Inc is a communications technology company that provides satellite-based connectivity and related services to commercial, government and consumer customers. The company’s offerings include high-speed broadband, satellite communications, network services and connectivity solutions designed for locations where terrestrial networks may be limited or unavailable.

Viasat serves the aviation, maritime, residential broadband, enterprise and government markets. Its services support in-flight internet for commercial and business aircraft, connectivity for ships and offshore operations, broadband access for homes and communities, and secure communications for government and defense customers.