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

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s share price 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Viasat Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.12 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $9.10 and its 200-day moving average is $12.83.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by ($0.53). The firm 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 company’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($6.16) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Viasat, Inc. will post -2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other Viasat news, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total transaction of $32,824.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 350,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,226,732.71. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Viasat by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 282,475 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,373,000 after purchasing an additional 151,590 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Viasat by 6.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 400,320 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,780,000 after buying an additional 24,889 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Viasat by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,508,056 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,950,000 after acquiring an additional 122,472 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its holdings in Viasat by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,419,223 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $52,766,000 after acquiring an additional 969,942 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of Viasat in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viasat Company Profile

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.