Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Up 8.9% – Time to Buy?

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) shares shot up 8.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.35 and last traded at $49.2460. 136,851 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 1,736,155 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on VSAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Viasat from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.71.

Viasat Trading Up 15.1%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of -20.17 and a beta of 1.44.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In other news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total transaction of $4,034,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,434,993 shares in the company, valued at $57,887,617.62. This trade represents a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Camellia E. Fitzgerald sold 2,810 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $134,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,408. This represents a 22.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 140,881 shares of company stock worth $5,973,317 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 6,815.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 899 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Viasat in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Viasat in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viasat in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.