Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Down 5.3% – Time to Sell?

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) shares fell 5.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $70.30 and last traded at $70.0980. 1,413,289 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 2,106,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VSAT shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price target on Viasat and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, New Street Research began coverage on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.11.

Viasat Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -241.87 and a beta of 1.70.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly 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 positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In other Viasat news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total value of $25,904,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,083,012.96. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,136,855.99. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 438,803 shares of company stock worth $28,655,600. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Viasat during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Viasat by 935.3% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 352 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Viasat in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, EFG International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 86.05% 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.