Global Retirement Partners LLC Invests $723,000 in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,049 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $723,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 935.3% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 352 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Viasat during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the first quarter worth about $51,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSAT opened at $76.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -316.96 and a beta of 1.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $74.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Viasat Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.50 and a 52-week high of $93.03.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.64% and a positive return on equity of 1.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on VSAT. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Viasat and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on Viasat in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.67.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other Viasat news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total transaction of $25,904,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,083,012.96. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 223,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total transaction of $18,021,956.04. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 671,861 shares of company stock worth $47,405,788 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Viasat 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.