Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Oppenheimer

Equities research analysts at Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) in a report issued on Monday. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price target on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target indicates a potential upside of 96.22% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on VSAT. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 target price on Viasat and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays set a $49.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.11.

Viasat Trading Up 15.2%

Shares of VSAT traded up $9.40 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $71.35. The stock had a trading volume of 398,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,997,955. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.04 and a 200 day moving average of $52.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -245.44 and a beta of 1.70. Viasat has a 52 week low of $14.00 and a 52 week high of $89.79.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total transaction of $172,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $759,000. This represents a 18.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total value of $25,904,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,083,012.96. This trade represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 438,275 shares of company stock worth $28,608,719. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSAT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 2,821.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,222,981 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $111,065,000 after acquiring an additional 3,112,670 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Viasat by 673.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $14,443,000 after buying an additional 1,206,935 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Viasat by 64.9% during 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Viasat by 38.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,713,581 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $108,808,000 after buying an additional 1,033,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Viasat by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,307,187 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $96,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,737 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.