Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on Viasat from $24.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Viasat in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.43.

Viasat Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of VSAT stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $9.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,648,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,462,543. Viasat has a 12 month low of $6.69 and a 12 month high of $26.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.36. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.68 and a beta of 1.35.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 8.37%. On average, research analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viasat news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $33,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total value of $32,824.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 350,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,226,732.71. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the third quarter valued at $28,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Viasat by 63.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,623 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Viasat by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Company Profile

Viasat, Inc provides broadband and communications products and services worldwide. The company's Satellite Services segment offers satellite-based fixed broadband services, including broadband internet access and voice over internet protocol services to consumers and businesses; in-flight entertainment and aviation software services to commercial airlines and private business jets; satellite-based connectivity services; mobile broadband services, including satellite-based internet services to energy offshore vessels, cruise ships, consumer ferries, and yachts; and energy services, which include ultra-secure solutions IP connectivity, bandwidth-optimized over-the-top applications, industrial internet-of-things big data enablement, and industry-leading machine learning analytics.