BankChampaign National Association Makes New Investment in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

BankChampaign National Association acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 9,539 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of Viasat by 88.4% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 29,825 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 13,998 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 11.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 52,637 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,412,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council grew its stake in Viasat by 92.6% in the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 336,056 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $15,391,000 after purchasing an additional 161,552 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Viasat by 78.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,026 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Viasat by 22.9% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 133,708 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $6,124,000 after purchasing an additional 24,931 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of VSAT stock opened at $77.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -267.59 and a beta of 1.70. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $15.27 and a one year high of $93.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.21 and its 200 day moving average is $59.22.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viasat news, Director John P. Stenbit sold 653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $46,846.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,123,288.78. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total value of $25,904,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,083,012.96. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 442,803 shares of company stock worth $28,944,520 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price target on shares of Viasat and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.11.

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.