Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Trading Up 9.3% – What’s Next?

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s stock price was up 9.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.11 and last traded at $45.5670. Approximately 385,128 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 1,898,355 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.86.

Viasat Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of -17.50 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.58 and a 200-day moving average of $34.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 200,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,534,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,862,904.37. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Shawn Lynn Duffy sold 51,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $1,872,842.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,043.98. This trade represents a 89.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 359,339 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,768 in the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 6,815.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 899 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Viasat in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Viasat in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Viasat in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.