Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $50.24 and last traded at $47.3140, with a volume of 279594 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $23.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.86.

Viasat Trading Down 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.29 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.54 and a 200 day moving average of $36.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Camellia E. Fitzgerald sold 2,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $134,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $477,408. This trade represents a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Shawn Lynn Duffy sold 51,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $1,872,842.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,043.98. This represents a 89.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 354,290 shares of company stock valued at $13,059,722 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Viasat during the 2nd quarter worth $1,099,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Viasat in the second quarter worth about $3,066,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in Viasat by 6.8% in the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,541,636 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $80,908,000 after buying an additional 351,404 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Viasat during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,230,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,498,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.