Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock Price Up 7.8% – What’s Next?

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s share price was up 7.8% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $75.93 and last traded at $75.2090. Approximately 1,240,123 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 2,035,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VSAT. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.67.

Viasat Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.09 and a 200-day moving average of $69.44. The stock has a market cap of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of -274.93 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.07. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%.The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.91, for a total transaction of $307,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,963,479.94. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.69, for a total value of $211,725.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $931,590. This represents a 18.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 245,763 shares of company stock valued at $19,677,727. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,863,374,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Viasat by 18.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,789,539 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $219,346,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 53.1% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,243,040 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $201,447,000 after buying an additional 777,761 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at $127,283,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Viasat by 8,261.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 976,646 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $87,713,000 after acquiring an additional 964,966 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Company Profile

Viasat, Inc is a communications company that provides satellite connectivity and related services to commercial, government and consumer customers. Its offerings include broadband internet, in-flight connectivity, maritime communications, enterprise networking and secure communications for government and defense applications.

The company operates a fleet of communications satellites and develops supporting ground infrastructure, network services and connectivity equipment. Viasat serves customers across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and other international markets, including airlines, shipping companies, businesses, government agencies and households in areas where terrestrial broadband is limited.

Viasat was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.