Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Trading 9.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s stock price rose 9.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $41.60 and last traded at $42.1050. Approximately 1,316,087 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 1,404,293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $10.00) on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Viasat from $25.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.75.

Viasat Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.87 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $35.53 and its 200 day moving average is $28.98.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, November 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.20. Viasat had a negative net margin of 11.40% and a negative return on equity of 3.65%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.23) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viasat news, SVP Robert James Blair sold 2,269 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total transaction of $80,799.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,439,961.59. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $7,018,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,534,993 shares in the company, valued at $53,862,904.37. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 256,529 shares of company stock worth $9,071,888 in the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Viasat by 15.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Viasat by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,145 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 18,989 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 3,250 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Viasat by 2.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,838 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $904,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viasat Company Profile

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.