Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Upgraded by Barclays to “Equal Weight” Rating

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Barclays from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Finviz reports. The firm currently has a $49.00 target price on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential downside of 9.06% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Viasat from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, January 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.43.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of VSAT stock opened at $53.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.13. The company has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.80 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.89. Viasat has a 52 week low of $7.36 and a 52 week high of $54.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other news, SVP Robert James Blair sold 30,411 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.04, for a total value of $1,430,533.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,792,600.32. This trade represents a 44.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Camellia E. Fitzgerald sold 2,810 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 owned 9,946 shares in the company, valued at $477,408. This trade represents a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 40,881 shares of company stock valued at $1,939,317 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 8.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,958 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $497,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,024 shares during the last quarter. OCO Capital Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 60.0% in the second quarter. OCO Capital Partners L.P. now owns 6,000,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $87,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250,000 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 15.8% in the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $85,338,000 after purchasing an additional 796,349 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,050,883 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $139,601,000 after purchasing an additional 743,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 38.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,713,581 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $108,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,194 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viasat Company Profile

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.