Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Receives Market Perform Rating from William Blair

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market perform" rating reaffirmed by analysts at William Blair in a research note issued to investors on Friday,RTT News reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on VSAT. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.43.

Viasat Trading Down 19.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT traded down $2.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.00. 11,387,028 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,594,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.44. Viasat has a 12-month low of $6.69 and a 12-month high of $26.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.68 and a beta of 1.35. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $9.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.83.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 8.28%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viasat will post -2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total transaction of $32,824.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 350,351 shares in the company, valued at $3,226,732.71. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 19,270 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 4,446 shares in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $214,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Viasat by 176.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 34,182 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 6,189 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.