Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $11.17, but opened at $8.93. Viasat shares last traded at $9.24, with a volume of 3,731,604 shares.

Specifically, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $33,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at $43,158,006. This represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on VSAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Viasat from $24.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Viasat has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.43.

Viasat Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.74 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.34 and a 200 day moving average of $11.71.

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

Institutional Trading of Viasat

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VSAT. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the 4th quarter worth $780,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC boosted its holdings in Viasat by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 84,918 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 7,382 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in Viasat by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 20,021 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 5,428 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Viasat by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 61,494 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 30,189 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 72,132 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Viasat

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.