Viasat’s (VSAT) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 66.96% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Viasat from $24.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.43.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of VSAT opened at $11.38 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.33 and a 200-day moving average of $11.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 1.35. Viasat has a twelve month low of $6.69 and a twelve month high of $26.70.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 8.28%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Viasat will post -2.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In related news, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,226,732.71. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSAT. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Viasat by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in Viasat in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Viasat in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. KBC Group NV increased 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 buying an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.