Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Neutral

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) was downgraded by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, FinViz reports. They currently have a $15.00 price objective on the communications equipment provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $29.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.54% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Viasat from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Viasat from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Viasat from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.83.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $13.57 on Tuesday. Viasat has a 12-month low of $11.76 and a 12-month high of $29.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of -1.55 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Viasat had a negative return on equity of 19.76% and a negative net margin of 22.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.83) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Viasat will post -1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 2,811,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total transaction of $55,947,695.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,545,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,052,146.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSAT. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the second quarter valued at $61,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Viasat by 63.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 644,155 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $8,181,000 after purchasing an additional 250,389 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its holdings in Viasat by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 3,449,281 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $43,806,000 after buying an additional 36,681 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at about $319,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at about $214,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viasat Company Profile

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.