Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Sets New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $28.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Viasat traded as low as $14.15 and last traded at $14.28, with a volume of 893193 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.74.

Separately, Barclays reduced their price target on Viasat from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Viasat by 5.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 672,639 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,417,000 after acquiring an additional 34,037 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 27.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,210 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 2,602 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 128.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 57,350 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 32,241 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 45.7% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 16,156 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 38.6% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 149,446 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,759,000 after purchasing an additional 41,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Trading Down 10.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of -1.60 and a beta of 1.31.

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.