Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Upgraded by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft to “Buy” Rating

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) was upgraded by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $15.00 target price on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s target price indicates a potential upside of 53.37% from the stock’s current price.

VSAT has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com raised Viasat from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viasat currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.57.

Viasat Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $9.78 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $9.46 and its 200-day moving average is $10.05. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.80. Viasat has a 52-week low of $6.69 and a 52-week high of $26.70.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 8.37%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Viasat will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,773,860 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $117,216,000 after purchasing an additional 194,006 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in Viasat by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,044,364 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $42,912,000 after buying an additional 700,533 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Viasat by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,445,811 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $53,083,000 after buying an additional 276,376 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its position in Viasat by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,419,223 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,766,000 after buying an additional 969,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,508,056 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,950,000 after buying an additional 122,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.