Viasat Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 49,655 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,288% compared to the typical volume of 3,577 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VSAT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.29.

Viasat Stock Performance

Viasat stock traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,456,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,795,988. The firm has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.81 and a beta of 1.39. Viasat has a twelve month low of $7.36 and a twelve month high of $48.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, November 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 11.40% and a negative return on equity of 3.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Viasat will post -0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 200,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total value of $7,018,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,534,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,862,904.37. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert James Blair sold 2,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total transaction of $80,799.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68,519 shares in the company, valued at $2,439,961.59. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 356,529 shares of company stock valued at $13,105,888. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of Viasat by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 11,138 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 34,764 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 13,148 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in Viasat by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 12,614 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,042 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Viasat by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,360 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Viasat by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,853 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares during the period. 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.