First Trust Advisors LP Has $9.30 Million Stock Position in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 37.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 203,053 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,581 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Viasat were worth $9,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter worth approximately $830,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Viasat by 797.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 117,019 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,032,000 after buying an additional 103,981 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Viasat by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 38,700 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,334,000 after buying an additional 17,700 shares in the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Viasat by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 84,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,895,000 after buying an additional 42,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat during the 1st quarter valued at $2,757,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 1st. Barclays set a $49.00 price objective on Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viasat presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.11.

Viasat Stock Performance

VSAT opened at $76.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 2.41. The company has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a PE ratio of -265.28 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.25 and a 200-day moving average of $59.34. Viasat Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.27 and a 52-week high of $93.03.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John P. Stenbit sold 653 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $46,846.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 29,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,123,288.78. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $1,945,732.28. Following the transaction, the director owned 213,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,306,087.70. This trade represents a 11.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 442,803 shares of company stock valued at $28,944,520. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Profile

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.