Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) SVP Sells $110,904.00 in Stock

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.21, for a total value of $110,904.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,166.51. This trade represents a 8.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Viasat Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ VSAT traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $47.53. 1,904,079 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,703,922. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.72. Viasat Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.36 and a 12 month high of $50.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.35 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VSAT shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.86.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Viasat by 483.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 109,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,140,000 after buying an additional 90,680 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Viasat by 189.7% in 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 buying an additional 296,612 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Viasat by 673.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $14,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,935 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Viasat by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Viasat by 6.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 14,575 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.