Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) CEO Sells $25,904,000.00 in Stock

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) CEO Mark Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total transaction of $25,904,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,082,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,083,012.96. This trade represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. 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.

Viasat Stock Performance

NASDAQ VSAT traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $63.94. 2,746,046 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,648,996. Viasat Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.31 and a 1 year high of $89.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.81. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -220.48 and a beta of 1.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 8.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,958 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $497,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,024 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 15.8% in the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $85,338,000 after acquiring an additional 796,349 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 18.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,789,539 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,346,000 after acquiring an additional 738,656 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 38.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,713,581 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $108,808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033,194 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,328,854 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after acquiring an additional 273,369 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VSAT. New Street Research began coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Barclays set a $49.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price target on shares of Viasat and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.13.

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.