Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Shares in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 60,200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VSAT. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Viasat during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Viasat during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. EFG International AG purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Viasat by 7,380.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,244 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,214 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viasat Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $61.95 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Viasat Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.00 and a 52 week high of $89.79. The company has a market cap of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -213.62 and a beta of 1.70.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,083,012.96. This represents a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $1,945,732.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 213,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,306,087.70. The trade was a 11.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 438,275 shares of company stock valued at $28,608,719 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VSAT shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price 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. New Street Research began coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 1st. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $49.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.12.

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.