Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock Price Down 5.4% – Time to Sell?

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) shares traded down 5.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $71.85 and last traded at $71.1920. 1,233,044 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 1,712,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. New Street Research assumed coverage on Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Viasat from $52.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays raised shares of Viasat from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.50.

Viasat Trading Up 5.4%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.79 and a 200-day moving average of $46.52. 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 $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of -28.79 and a beta of 1.66.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In related news, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.21, for a total value of $110,904.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,166.51. The trade was a 8.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert James Blair sold 30,411 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.04, for a total value of $1,430,533.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,792,600.32. The trade was a 44.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,071 shares of company stock worth $1,804,437. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VSAT. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 483.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 109,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 90,680 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 189.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 452,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,692,000 after purchasing an additional 296,612 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 673.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,935 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Viasat by 64.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,866,000 after buying an additional 1,128,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Viasat by 6.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,357,000 after buying an additional 14,575 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.