Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Up 5.6% – What’s Next?

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) shares rose 5.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $11.69 and last traded at $11.82. Approximately 499,551 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 2,565,428 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VSAT. Barclays increased their price target on Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, February 10th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.57.

Viasat Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.50 and a beta of 1.38.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share 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, research analysts anticipate that Viasat, Inc. will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In related 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 transaction of $33,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,158,006. This represents a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its holdings in Viasat by 28.1% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,419,223 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $52,766,000 after purchasing an additional 969,942 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Viasat by 538.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,136,675 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,673,000 after buying an additional 958,706 shares during the last quarter. Tenzing Global Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,170,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 149.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,365,194 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $11,618,000 after buying an additional 818,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,044,364 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $42,912,000 after acquiring an additional 700,533 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Company Profile

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.