Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 9,946 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 60% compared to the average volume of 6,204 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viasat news, SVP Benjamin Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.46, for a total transaction of $181,104.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 21,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,658.14. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Baldridge sold 223,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total value of $18,021,956.04. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 257,656 shares of company stock valued at $20,475,905 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VSAT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Viasat in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,863,374,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,607,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the second quarter worth $11,902,000. South Dakota Investment Council lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 92.6% during the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 336,056 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $15,391,000 after purchasing an additional 161,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the second quarter valued at $5,423,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Price Performance

VSAT stock opened at $77.99 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.46. Viasat has a 12-month low of $29.13 and a 12-month high of $93.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of -324.96 and a beta of 1.76.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Viasat will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on VSAT shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc is a communications technology company that provides satellite-based connectivity and related services to commercial, government and consumer customers. The company’s offerings include high-speed broadband, satellite communications, network services and connectivity solutions designed for locations where terrestrial networks may be limited or unavailable.

Viasat serves the aviation, maritime, residential broadband, enterprise and government markets. Its services support in-flight internet for commercial and business aircraft, connectivity for ships and offshore operations, broadband access for homes and communities, and secure communications for government and defense customers.