Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $8.51, but opened at $8.80. Viasat shares last traded at $9.58, with a volume of 958,881 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on VSAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Viasat from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $29.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Viasat from $24.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Viasat from $28.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Viasat from $31.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.33.

Viasat Trading Down 4.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.78.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by ($0.53). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 8.73% and a negative return on equity of 7.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($6.16) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Viasat, Inc. will post -2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viasat news, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total value of $32,824.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 350,351 shares in the company, valued at $3,226,732.71. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Viasat by 361.3% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,880 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 60,998 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 63.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 644,155 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $8,181,000 after buying an additional 250,389 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth about $710,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 1,145.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 816,478 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,369,000 after acquiring an additional 750,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 191,304 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,284,000 after acquiring an additional 55,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.