Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to “Neutral”

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $15.00 price target on the communications equipment provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $29.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Viasat from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, August 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on Viasat from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Viasat from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on Viasat from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $23.83.

Viasat Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $12.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.48 and a beta of 1.35. Viasat has a 12-month low of $11.76 and a 12-month high of $29.11.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 22.13% and a negative return on equity of 19.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.83) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viasat will post -1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 2,811,442 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $55,947,695.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,545,334 shares in the company, valued at $170,052,146.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VSAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Viasat by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,532,375 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $226,711,000 after buying an additional 348,166 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its position in Viasat by 1.1% during the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 3,449,281 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,806,000 after buying an additional 36,681 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Viasat by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 920,998 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,742,000 after acquiring an additional 118,902 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Viasat by 1,145.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 816,478 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,369,000 after purchasing an additional 750,904 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Viasat by 25.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 796,368 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,114,000 after acquiring an additional 162,804 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently 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.