Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 49,655 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,288% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,577 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VSAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 16th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.29.

Viasat Price Performance

Viasat stock traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.40. 1,456,730 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,795,988. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.11. The firm has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of -11.81 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Viasat has a 12 month low of $7.36 and a 12 month high of $48.90.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, November 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.23) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert James Blair sold 2,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total value of $80,799.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 68,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,439,961.59. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.06, for a total transaction of $100,246.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,831 shares in the company, valued at $1,003,585.86. This represents a 9.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 356,529 shares of company stock worth $13,105,888 over the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Viasat by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,360 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,145 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 3.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 18,989 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA lifted its position in Viasat by 22.6% during the third quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 3,250 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.