Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Up 5.8% – What’s Next?

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) rose 5.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $9.20 and last traded at $8.96. Approximately 430,746 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 3,615,132 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on VSAT. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Viasat from $24.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Viasat from $31.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Viasat from $28.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.33.

Viasat Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.89 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by ($0.53). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 8.73% and a negative return on equity of 7.58%. Viasat’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($6.16) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Viasat, Inc. will post -2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other news, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total value of $32,824.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 350,351 shares in the company, valued at $3,226,732.71. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Viasat in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Viasat by 63.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,623 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 176.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc provides broadband and communications products and services worldwide. The company's Satellite Services segment offers satellite-based fixed broadband services, including broadband internet access and voice over internet protocol services to consumers and businesses; in-flight entertainment and aviation software services to commercial airlines and private business jets; satellite-based connectivity services; mobile broadband services, including satellite-based internet services to energy offshore vessels, cruise ships, consumer ferries, and yachts; and energy services, which include ultra-secure solutions IP connectivity, bandwidth-optimized over-the-top applications, industrial internet-of-things big data enablement, and industry-leading machine learning analytics.