Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Shares of Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $11.17, but opened at $8.93. Viasat shares last traded at $9.24, with a volume of 3,731,604 shares changing hands.

Specifically, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $33,750,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on Viasat from $24.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.43.

Viasat Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.33 and a 200-day moving average of $11.73.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 8.28%. On average, research analysts forecast that Viasat, Inc. will post -2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 28.1% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,419,223 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,766,000 after buying an additional 969,942 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Viasat by 150.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 706,792 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $6,015,000 after acquiring an additional 424,317 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,887,537 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $16,063,000 after purchasing an additional 364,072 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 98.5% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 675,378 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,747,000 after purchasing an additional 335,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Viasat by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,445,811 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $53,083,000 after buying an additional 276,376 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Viasat

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.