Needham & Company LLC Issues Positive Forecast for Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock Price

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $90.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 29.51% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer began coverage on Viasat in a report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, July 17th. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.78.

Viasat Stock Down 5.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT traded down $5.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.07. 3,471,863 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,135,995. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 2.41. Viasat has a 52-week low of $21.28 and a 52-week high of $93.03. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.06. The company has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of -279.57 and a beta of 1.72.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Viasat will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.41, for a total value of $249,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,136,855.99. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $1,945,732.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 213,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,306,087.70. This trade represents a 11.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 442,803 shares of company stock worth $28,944,520 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VSAT. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Viasat by 483.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 109,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 90,680 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Viasat by 189.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 296,612 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $29,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 14,575 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Viasat News

Here are the key news stories impacting Viasat this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viasat reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.17 per share, exceeding the $0.10 consensus estimate and improving from a loss of $0.43 per share a year earlier. Lower interest expense helped narrow losses, while management reaffirmed its growth outlook. Viasat Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates Despite Lower Y/Y Revenues
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings call highlighted record awards for Viasat’s government-focused Direct Access to Technology business, improving cash flow, and two ViaSat-3 satellites nearing service. Expanded satellite capacity could support future growth in aviation, maritime and government markets. Viasat Q1 Earnings Call Centers on DAT Growth and ViaSat-3
• Neutral Sentiment: ViaSat-3 deployment progress and recent government contract wins have helped drive a 21.4% three-month rally, but investors are watching whether commercialization can translate the additional capacity into sustained revenue growth. Can Viasat’s Three-Month Rally Keep Climbing or Stall Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue of approximately $1.16 billion fell short of the roughly $1.20 billion analyst expectation and declined about 1.2% year over year. The revenue shortfall suggests that operational execution and demand growth remain uneven despite the EPS beat. Viasat Stock Hits the Brakes After Q1 Report
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and investors also question whether VSAT is priced too aggressively following its recent advance. Commercialization risk, intense competition and the company’s history of losses make the valuation more difficult to justify until ViaSat-3 growth becomes visible in reported results. Why ViaSat Stock Dropped After Earnings

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.