Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Rating Increased to Buy at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $15.00 price objective on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target suggests a potential upside of 28.10% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, February 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.57.

Viasat Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of Viasat stock opened at $11.71 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.49 and a beta of 1.38. Viasat has a 52-week low of $6.69 and a 52-week high of $26.70. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.97.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued 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 return on equity of 8.37% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viasat will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $33,750,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at $43,158,006. This represents a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 66,227 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat during the third quarter valued at approximately $322,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Viasat by 8.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,523,465 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $18,190,000 after acquiring an additional 115,909 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in Viasat by 361.3% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,880 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 60,998 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Viasat by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 63,656 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.