Viasat Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 7,736 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 205% compared to the typical volume of 2,535 call options.

Viasat Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of Viasat stock traded up $0.40 on Monday, hitting $13.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,255,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,042,097. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.89 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.42 and a 200-day moving average of $9.43. Viasat has a 1 year low of $6.69 and a 1 year high of $26.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Viasat by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Viasat during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Viasat by 233.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,177 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 850.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 3,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VSAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Viasat from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.88.

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.