Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Down 6% – Time to Sell?

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT – Get Free Report) traded down 6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $33.70 and last traded at $33.8880. 413,113 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 3,473,089 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VSAT shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Viasat from $25.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.75.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on VSAT

Viasat Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of -7.22 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, November 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. Viasat had a negative return on equity of 6.37% and a negative net margin of 13.11%.Viasat’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In related news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $3,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 197,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,111,991. This trade represents a 33.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VSAT. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viasat in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Viasat by 6,815.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 899 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Viasat during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 7,380.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,244 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,214 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viasat Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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