Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.8571.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Viasat in a report on Friday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viasat news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 200,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $7,018,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,534,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,862,904.37. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Camellia E. Fitzgerald sold 2,810 shares of the business’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 transaction of $134,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,408. The trade was a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 302,810 shares of company stock worth $11,186,880 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSAT. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at about $277,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viasat by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 16,716 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 3,144 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in shares of Viasat by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 46,952 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Viasat during the 4th quarter valued at about $279,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $46.14 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $44.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.81 and a beta of 1.44. Viasat has a one year low of $7.36 and a one year high of $50.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

About Viasat

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.