Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Price Target Lowered to $12.00 at Morgan Stanley

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $26.00 to $12.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on VSAT. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays cut their price target on Viasat from $24.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Viasat in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.43.

Viasat Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Viasat stock opened at $9.24 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.02. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.96 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Viasat has a 1 year low of $6.69 and a 1 year high of $26.70.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.54) by ($0.53). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 8.73% and a negative return on equity of 7.58%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($6.16) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Viasat will post -2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total transaction of $32,824.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 350,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,226,732.71. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Viasat in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Viasat by 63.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,623 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Viasat in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Viasat by 176.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Viasat

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.