MYDA Advisors LLC Takes $433,000 Position in Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)

MYDA Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 50,900 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,095,373 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $9,321,000 after purchasing an additional 175,593 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 177.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 281,244 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,393,000 after buying an additional 179,714 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Viasat by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 103,505 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 8,832 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in Viasat by 2,709.0% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 373,620 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 360,319 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in Viasat by 253.3% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 58,236 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 41,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, February 10th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.57.

Insider Activity

In other Viasat news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $33,750,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,158,006. This represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $8.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.47. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 1.06. Viasat, Inc. has a one year low of $6.69 and a one year high of $26.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 8.37%. Research analysts predict that Viasat, Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.