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

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) gapped down before the market opened 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 traded.

Specifically, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 approximately $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Viasat Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.33 and its 200 day moving average is $11.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released 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 expect that Viasat, Inc. will post -2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSAT. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 361.3% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,880 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 60,998 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Viasat during the third quarter valued at approximately $710,000. Everett Harris & Co. CA acquired a new position in Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,111,000. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Viasat by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 191,304 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,284,000 after buying an additional 55,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 282,475 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,373,000 after buying an additional 151,590 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.