Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 58.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 708,428 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 261,257 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.53% of Viasat worth $20,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Viasat by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 528,289 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $15,479,000 after purchasing an additional 97,201 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Viasat by 2.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 202,024 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,919,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Viasat in the third quarter valued at $296,000. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Viasat during the third quarter worth about $464,000. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new position in Viasat during the third quarter worth about $1,241,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Viasat stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.17. The stock had a trading volume of 362,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,682,634. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.81 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Viasat Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.36 and a 1 year high of $50.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viasat news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total transaction of $4,034,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,434,993 shares in the company, valued at $57,887,617.62. The trade was a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Camellia E. Fitzgerald sold 2,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $134,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $477,408. The trade was a 22.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 302,810 shares of company stock valued at $11,186,880. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VSAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, January 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.86.

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.