20,088 Viasat Inc. $VSAT Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 15.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,110 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 20,088 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Viasat were worth $7,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VSAT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Viasat during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,863,374,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Viasat by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,789,539 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,346,000 after acquiring an additional 738,656 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Viasat by 53.1% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,243,040 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $201,447,000 after acquiring an additional 777,761 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the second quarter valued at $127,283,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 8,261.7% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 976,646 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $87,713,000 after acquiring an additional 964,966 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VSAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Viasat from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Viasat from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on Viasat in a research report on Monday, August 10th. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.56.

Viasat Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $71.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.65. Viasat Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.13 and a fifty-two week high of $93.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.87. The company has a market capitalization of $9.92 billion, a PE ratio of -98.94 and a beta of 1.76.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.10. Viasat had a negative net margin of 2.07% and a negative return on equity of 0.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viasat news, SVP Benjamin Palmer sold 2,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.87, for a total value of $139,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 28,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,438.69. The trade was a 6.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 47,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,797,851.24. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,098 shares of company stock valued at $3,593,911. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc. is a global communications company that designs, develops and operates satellite and wireless communications systems. Its services support consumers, businesses, governments and other organizations that need connectivity in areas where terrestrial networks may be limited. The company provides satellite broadband for homes and businesses, in-flight connectivity for commercial and business aircraft, and communications services for maritime customers. Viasat also supplies secure communications, networking equipment and related services to government and defense customers.