Caitlin John LLC Invests $1.26 Million in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 14,034 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,260,000. Viasat makes up about 0.7% of Caitlin John LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSAT. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Viasat by 483.2% during 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $4,692,000 after purchasing an additional 296,612 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viasat by 673.7% during the 1st 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. lifted its stake in shares of Viasat by 64.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,866,000 after buying an additional 1,128,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viasat by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after buying an additional 14,575 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $72.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -303.04 and a beta of 1.72. Viasat Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.10 and a 12 month high of $93.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.26.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced 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). The company 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 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%.Viasat’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 223,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total value of $18,021,956.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total transaction of $172,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,000. This represents a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 675,861 shares of company stock valued at $47,705,388 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VSAT. Zacks Research upgraded Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.67.

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.