Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock Jumps 13.9% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) shot up 13.9% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $71.79 and last traded at $72.8240. 151,653 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 2,093,693 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Viasat from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.78.

Viasat Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of -102.99 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.26.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a negative return on equity of 0.05% and a negative net margin of 2.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viasat news, Director John Stenbit sold 705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.75, for a total value of $47,058.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,378.75. The trade was a 56.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Benjamin Palmer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.87, for a total transaction of $139,740.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 28,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,962,438.69. The trade was a 6.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 51,098 shares of company stock worth $3,593,911 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Viasat in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,863,374,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position 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 worth $201,447,000 after purchasing an additional 777,761 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the second quarter worth $127,283,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 8,261.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 976,646 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $87,713,000 after purchasing an additional 964,966 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc is a global communications company that designs, develops and operates satellite and wireless communications systems. Its services support consumers, businesses, governments and other organizations that need connectivity in areas where terrestrial networks may be limited.

The company provides satellite broadband for homes and businesses, in-flight connectivity for commercial and business aircraft, and communications services for maritime customers. Viasat also supplies secure communications, networking equipment and related services to government and defense customers.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Carlsbad, California, Viasat serves customers in the Americas and internationally.