Baupost Group LLC MA Sells 1,271,474 Shares of Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Baupost Group LLC MA decreased its holdings in Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,759,364 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,271,474 shares during the quarter. Viasat accounts for approximately 4.8% of Baupost Group LLC MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Baupost Group LLC MA owned 10.93% of Viasat worth $174,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VSAT. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 11,033.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Viasat in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,025 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the 1st quarter worth approximately $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Viasat stock opened at $12.77 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $16.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Viasat, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.76 and a 12-month high of $29.11. The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.45 and a beta of 1.35.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 22.13% and a negative return on equity of 19.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.83) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Viasat, Inc. will post -1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on VSAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Viasat from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Viasat from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $29.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Viasat from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Viasat from $31.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viasat currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other Viasat news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 2,811,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $55,947,695.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,545,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,052,146.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Viasat 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.