Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Trading 8.9% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s stock price rose 8.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $81.41 and last traded at $83.5190. Approximately 384,182 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 2,019,108 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 target price on Viasat and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on shares of Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Viasat has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.11.

Viasat Trading Up 9.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -290.56 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.91.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.02) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John P. Stenbit sold 653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $46,846.22. Following the sale, the director owned 29,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,123,288.78. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total transaction of $172,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,000. The trade was a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 438,275 shares of company stock worth $28,608,719 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSAT. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the first quarter worth $25,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. EFG International AG acquired a new position in shares of Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.