Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.81, but opened at $11.52. Viasat shares last traded at $10.96, with a volume of 1,229,071 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VSAT shares. 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.43.

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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of -3.71 and a beta of 1.34.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by ($0.53). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 8.73% and a negative return on equity of 7.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($6.16) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viasat, Inc. will post -2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other Viasat news, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total value of $32,824.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 350,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,226,732.71. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Viasat by 63.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,623 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 2.6% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 63,656 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Viasat by 176.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Viasat by 9.3% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 26,172 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in Viasat in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.