Short Interest in Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Grows By 19.2%

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 25,800,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the February 13th total of 21,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.9 days. Currently, 20.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Viasat Price Performance

VSAT opened at $10.08 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.21. Viasat has a 12-month low of $6.69 and a 12-month high of $26.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.00 and a beta of 1.38.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative return on equity of 8.37% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Viasat from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viasat news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $33,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at $43,158,006. This represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Viasat by 361.3% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,880 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 60,998 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth about $710,000. Everett Harris & Co. CA purchased a new stake in Viasat during the 4th quarter worth about $1,111,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Viasat by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 413,122 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,516,000 after purchasing an additional 12,802 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Viasat by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 282,475 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,373,000 after purchasing an additional 151,590 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.