Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Needham & Company LLC

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) had its price objective reduced by Needham & Company LLC from $105.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.78.

Viasat Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $63.95 on Friday. Viasat has a 1-year low of $29.13 and a 1-year high of $93.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $69.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.82 and a beta of 1.76.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative return on equity of 0.05% and a negative net margin of 2.07%. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In related news, SVP Benjamin Palmer sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.87, for a total transaction of $139,740.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 28,087 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,438.69. This trade represents a 6.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Garrett Chase sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.86, for a total transaction of $235,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 47,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,797,851.24. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 51,098 shares of company stock worth $3,593,911 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VSAT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,863,374,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the third quarter valued at $3,607,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the second quarter valued at $11,902,000. South Dakota Investment Council increased its holdings in Viasat by 92.6% during the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 336,056 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $15,391,000 after buying an additional 161,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA acquired a new position in Viasat during the second quarter worth $5,423,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc is a global communications company that designs, develops and operates satellite and wireless communications systems. Its services support consumers, businesses, governments and other organizations that need connectivity in areas where terrestrial networks may be limited.

The company provides satellite broadband for homes and businesses, in-flight connectivity for commercial and business aircraft, and communications services for maritime customers. Viasat also supplies secure communications, networking equipment and related services to government and defense customers.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Carlsbad, California, Viasat serves customers in the Americas and internationally.