Insider Purchases Worth US$820.0k See Losses As Viasat Market Value Drops To US$1.6b

Insiders who bought US$820.0k worth of Viasat, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:VSAT) stock at an average buy price of US$14.91 over the last year may be disappointed by the recent 25% decrease in the stock. Insiders invest with the hopes of seeing their money grow in value over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$703.5k, which is not what they expected.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Viasat

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Viasat

In fact, the recent purchase by Richard Baldridge was the biggest purchase of Viasat shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$12.79 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Richard Baldridge was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Viasat is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of Viasat

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Viasat insiders own about US$51m worth of shares. That equates to 3.1% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Viasat Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. However, we note that the company didn’t make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Viasat we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it’s beneficial to identify the risks facing Viasat. Be aware that Viasat is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is significant…

If you would prefer to check out another company — one with potentially superior financials — then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.