Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.43.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Viasat from $24.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viasat news, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total transaction of $32,824.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 350,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,226,732.71. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VSAT. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Viasat by 30.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 19,270 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 4,446 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 259.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 62,072 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 44,782 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at $214,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 176.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 34,182 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 6,189 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Viasat Stock Performance

NASDAQ VSAT traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $11.09. 2,879,715 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,244,907. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.37 and a beta of 1.35. Viasat has a 12-month low of $6.69 and a 12-month high of $26.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.33 and a 200 day moving average of $11.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative return on equity of 8.28% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Viasat will post -2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

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.