Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.17), Zacks reports. Viasat had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 8.37%.

Viasat Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Viasat stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $10.53. The stock had a trading volume of 2,326,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,244,672. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.13 and a beta of 1.01. Viasat has a 1 year low of $6.69 and a 1 year high of $26.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VSAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viasat from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.57.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position 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 buying an additional 90,680 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 14,575 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 69.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 252,466 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,631,000 after acquiring an additional 103,396 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 189.7% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Viasat by 673.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $14,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,935 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Company Profile

Viasat, Inc provides broadband and communications products and services worldwide. The company's Satellite Services segment offers satellite-based fixed broadband services, including broadband internet access and voice over internet protocol services to consumers and businesses; in-flight entertainment and aviation software services to commercial airlines and private business jets; satellite-based connectivity services; mobile broadband services, including satellite-based internet services to energy offshore vessels, cruise ships, consumer ferries, and yachts; and energy services, which include ultra-secure solutions IP connectivity, bandwidth-optimized over-the-top applications, industrial internet-of-things big data enablement, and industry-leading machine learning analytics.