Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Up 6.1% – Still a Buy?

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) shares shot up 6.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $71.95 and last traded at $72.92. Approximately 886,301 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 2,115,108 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VSAT shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Viasat from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, June 1st. New Street Research assumed coverage on Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays set a $49.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Viasat currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.11.

Viasat Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -253.38 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.71.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). Viasat had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a positive return on equity of 1.58%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.02) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other news, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.41, for a total value of $249,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,136,855.99. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $1,945,732.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 213,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,306,087.70. This represents a 11.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 438,803 shares of company stock valued at $28,655,600 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSAT. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Viasat by 935.3% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 352 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Viasat in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, EFG International AG bought a new position in Viasat in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

About Viasat

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.