Brokerages Set Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Price Target at $14.57

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.57.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VSAT shares. StockNews.com raised Viasat from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Viasat in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, February 10th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $33,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 850.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 3,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $10.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of -3.10 and a beta of 1.38. Viasat has a 1 year low of $6.69 and a 1 year high of $26.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $9.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.85.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced 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 8.37% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. Analysts predict that Viasat will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

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.