Senator Investment Group LP Invests $16.17 Million in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Senator Investment Group LP bought a new stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 180,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,166,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Viasat in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Viasat by 935.3% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 352 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Viasat in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VSAT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on Viasat in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays set a $49.00 price objective on Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.67.

Viasat Price Performance

NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $67.37 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.68. Viasat Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.10 and a fifty-two week high of $93.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -280.71 and a beta of 1.72.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced 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). Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.64% and a positive return on equity of 1.44%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.36 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 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,239 shares in the company, valued at $2,136,855.99. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.46, for a total value of $181,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 21,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,658.14. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 675,861 shares of company stock valued at $47,705,388. Corporate insiders own 1.40% 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.