Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $61.95, but opened at $67.39. Viasat shares last traded at $71.2860, with a volume of 657,039 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VSAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, June 1st. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Viasat in a report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays set a $49.00 price target on Viasat in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.11.

Viasat Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of -256.33 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $68.04 and its 200-day moving average is $52.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $1,945,732.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 213,355 shares in the company, valued at $15,306,087.70. This trade represents a 11.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Stenbit sold 653 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $46,846.22. Following the sale, the director owned 29,597 shares in the company, valued at $2,123,288.78. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 438,275 shares of company stock worth $28,608,719 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its position in shares of Viasat by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 5,845,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $85,338,000 after buying an additional 796,349 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Viasat by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,789,539 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,346,000 after acquiring an additional 738,656 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Viasat by 38.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,713,581 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $108,808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033,194 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Viasat by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,328,854 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $115,266,000 after acquiring an additional 273,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Viasat by 2,821.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,222,981 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $111,065,000 after purchasing an additional 3,112,670 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.