Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock Jumps 7.7% – Here’s What Happened

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s stock price rose 7.7% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $65.68 and last traded at $66.18. Approximately 228,304 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 2,047,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on Viasat in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Thursday, October 15th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

Viasat Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -281.80 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.69.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.07. Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.64% and a positive return on equity of 1.44%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 223,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total transaction of $18,021,956.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.86, for a total value of $235,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 47,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,797,851.24. The trade was a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 257,656 shares of company stock valued at $20,475,905 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Viasat during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 935.3% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 352 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Bullseye Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Viasat in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Company Profile

Viasat, Inc is a communications technology company that provides satellite-based connectivity and related services to commercial, government and consumer customers. The company’s offerings include high-speed broadband, satellite communications, network services and connectivity solutions designed for locations where terrestrial networks may be limited or unavailable.

Viasat serves the aviation, maritime, residential broadband, enterprise and government markets. Its services support in-flight internet for commercial and business aircraft, connectivity for ships and offshore operations, broadband access for homes and communities, and secure communications for government and defense customers.