Stock analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of ViaSat (NASDAQ:VSAT) in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price target on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 7.26% from the stock’s current price.
A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VSAT. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of ViaSat in a research note on Thursday, November 9th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of ViaSat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, November 10th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of ViaSat from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down from $48.00) on shares of ViaSat in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. Finally, BidaskClub lowered shares of ViaSat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.75.
Shares of ViaSat (VSAT) traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $72.72. 531,800 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 441,289. ViaSat has a 1 year low of $57.75 and a 1 year high of $74.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4,208.22, a PE ratio of 1,445.20 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.
In other ViaSat news, insider Keven K. Lippert sold 4,100 shares of ViaSat stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.86, for a total value of $298,726.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,896.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John P. Stenbit sold 700 shares of ViaSat stock in a transaction on Monday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.42, for a total transaction of $45,094.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,300 shares in the company, valued at $663,526. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 79,300 shares of company stock worth $5,306,803. 7.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VSAT. Aperio Group LLC increased its stake in ViaSat by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 5,990 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 2,040 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of ViaSat by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 104,223 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,900,000 after acquiring an additional 13,550 shares during the period. Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of ViaSat by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 7,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in shares of ViaSat by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 32,477 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Finally, World Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of ViaSat by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. World Asset Management Inc now owns 3,279 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.42% of the company’s stock.
ViaSat Company Profile
ViaSat, Inc is engaged in broadband technologies and services. The Company operates through three segments: satellite services, commercial networks and government systems. The satellite services segment provides satellite-based broadband services to consumers, enterprises, commercial airlines and mobile broadband customers primarily in the United States.