The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 1,584 Shares of Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,656 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,584 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Viasat were worth $760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Viasat by 63.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,623 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the third quarter worth $63,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Price Performance

VSAT stock opened at $9.34 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.69 and a 1 year high of $29.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.63 and a 200 day moving average of $13.44. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.99 and a beta of 1.34.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by ($0.53). Viasat had a negative return on equity of 7.58% and a negative net margin of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($6.16) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Viasat, Inc. will post -2.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on VSAT. StockNews.com cut shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Viasat from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Bank of America cut their target price on Viasat from $31.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Viasat from $28.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.33.

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.