491,972 Shares in Viasat Inc. $VSAT Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 491,972 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $43,497,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.36% of Viasat at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Viasat during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Viasat by 935.3% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 352 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Viasat in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Viasat in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In related news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 223,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total transaction of $18,021,956.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total value of $299,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,965,301.10. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 675,861 shares of company stock worth $47,705,388. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of VSAT opened at $67.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -280.71 and a beta of 1.72. Viasat Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.10 and a twelve month high of $93.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.28.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%.Viasat’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on VSAT. New Street Research assumed coverage on Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

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.