Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $65.60 and last traded at $64.9840, with a volume of 1191881 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised Viasat from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $23.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target 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. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price target on shares of Viasat and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of Viasat from $52.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viasat has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.57.

Viasat Stock Up 11.2%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viasat news, SVP Craig Andrew Miller sold 5,260 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $263,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 21,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,062,600. The trade was a 19.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.21, for a total value of $110,904.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 25,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,166.51. This trade represents a 8.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 38,071 shares of company stock valued at $1,804,437 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Abel Hall LLC bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the first quarter worth approximately $325,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 227.3% in the first quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 832,925 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $38,148,000 after purchasing an additional 578,425 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Viasat in the first quarter worth approximately $349,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 232.9% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 45,463 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,082,000 after purchasing an additional 31,808 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.