Rhumbline Advisers Increases Holdings in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 371,292 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 69,385 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Viasat were worth $10,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VSAT. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Viasat in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 15.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Trading Up 1.4%

Viasat stock opened at $46.50 on Friday. Viasat Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.36 and a 1 year high of $49.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.07 and its 200-day moving average is $35.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.13. The company has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.95 and a beta of 1.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $36.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $23.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Viasat has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Shawn Lynn Duffy sold 51,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $1,872,842.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,043.98. This represents a 89.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Camellia E. Fitzgerald sold 2,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $134,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $477,408. This trade represents a 22.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 354,290 shares of company stock worth $13,059,722 over the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Viasat Company Profile

Viasat, Inc (NASDAQ: VSAT) provides high‐capacity satellite broadband and wireless communications services to consumer, commercial and government customers worldwide. The company designs and operates satellite systems and network infrastructure to deliver secure, high-speed connectivity across remote and underserved regions, as well as managed networking solutions for enterprises and public sector agencies.

Viasat’s product offerings include residential and enterprise satellite internet services, in-flight connectivity for commercial airlines and business jets, and secure networking platforms tailored to defense and intelligence users.