Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VSAT. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, February 10th. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.57.

Viasat Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:VSAT traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $8.74. 2,142,870 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,339,949. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.60 and a beta of 1.35. Viasat has a one year low of $6.69 and a one year high of $26.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

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Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Helium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Viasat in the fourth quarter worth about $326,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 19,715 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 149,070 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 44,804 shares in the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Viasat by 2,262.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 539,534 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $4,591,000 after buying an additional 516,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

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.