Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 74,200 Shares of Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,330,600 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 74,200 shares during the quarter. Viasat makes up 1.6% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.98% of Viasat worth $45,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 6,815.4% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 899 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Viasat during the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 7,380.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,244 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,214 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viasat Stock Performance

NASDAQ VSAT opened at $62.85 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.27 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Viasat Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.95 and a 1 year high of $64.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VSAT shares. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 16th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Viasat from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Viasat from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viasat news, CAO Camellia E. Fitzgerald sold 2,810 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $134,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $477,408. The trade was a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.21, for a total transaction of $110,904.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,166.51. This represents a 8.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 40,881 shares of company stock worth $1,939,317 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc (NASDAQ: VSAT) provides high‐capacity satellite broadband and wireless communications services to consumer, commercial and government customers worldwide. The company designs and operates satellite systems and network infrastructure to deliver secure, high-speed connectivity across remote and underserved regions, as well as managed networking solutions for enterprises and public sector agencies.

Viasat’s product offerings include residential and enterprise satellite internet services, in-flight connectivity for commercial airlines and business jets, and secure networking platforms tailored to defense and intelligence users.