Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VSAT. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, February 10th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.57.

Viasat Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $9.55 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Viasat has a 12-month low of $6.69 and a 12-month high of $26.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.84 and a beta of 1.38.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued 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 return on equity of 8.37% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. On average, research analysts forecast that Viasat will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 350,351 shares in the company, valued at $3,226,732.71. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Viasat in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 63.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,623 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Viasat in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 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.