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

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 50,768 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 858% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,300 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robert James Blair sold 30,411 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.04, for a total transaction of $1,430,533.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,792,600.32. This trade represents a 44.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 owned 21,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,062,600. This represents a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 38,071 shares of company stock valued at $1,804,437 over the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Viasat by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 46,400 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,125,000 after buying an additional 4,600 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Viasat in the first quarter valued at approximately $360,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Viasat in the first quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Viasat by 2.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,605 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Viasat by 37.7% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 203,053 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,300,000 after acquiring an additional 55,581 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viasat Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of VSAT traded down $4.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.14. 487,081 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,673,661. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $55.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.19. Viasat has a twelve month low of $8.61 and a twelve month high of $75.14. The stock has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.00 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSAT has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Viasat from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Viasat from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.50.

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.