Viasat Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 50,768 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 858% compared to the typical volume of 5,300 call options.

Viasat Trading Down 6.5%

Shares of VSAT stock opened at $69.50 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $56.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.36. Viasat has a 1-year low of $8.61 and a 1-year high of $75.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a PE ratio of -26.83 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other Viasat news, SVP Craig Andrew Miller sold 5,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $263,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 21,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,600. The trade was a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert James Blair sold 30,411 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.04, for a total value of $1,430,533.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,792,600.32. This represents a 44.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,071 shares of company stock worth $1,804,437. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSAT. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Viasat by 483.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 109,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 90,680 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Viasat by 189.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 452,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $4,692,000 after acquiring an additional 296,612 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Viasat by 673.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,935 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Viasat by 64.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Viasat by 6.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 14,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VSAT. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Viasat from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $36.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 target price on Viasat and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on Viasat from $52.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on Viasat in a report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Viasat Company Profile

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.