Trexquant Investment LP Purchases 176,407 Shares of Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 63.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 456,162 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 176,407 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.36% of Viasat worth $3,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VSAT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Viasat by 8.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,523,465 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,190,000 after acquiring an additional 115,909 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 2.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,584 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 70,082 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 39,488 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in shares of Viasat in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $160,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $328,000. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Price Performance

NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $8.90 on Friday. Viasat, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.69 and a 52-week high of $26.70. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.78.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Viasat, Inc. will post -0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $33,750,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Viasat in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.57.

Viasat 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.