Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $61.95, but opened at $67.39. Viasat shares last traded at $71.2860, with a volume of 657,039 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VSAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays set a $49.00 price target on Viasat in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, April 20th. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on Viasat from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. New Street Research assumed coverage on Viasat in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.11.

Viasat Trading Up 19.8%

The stock has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of -256.33 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $68.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.63.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.Viasat’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total value of $172,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $759,000. The trade was a 18.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $1,945,732.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 213,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,306,087.70. This represents a 11.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 438,275 shares of company stock worth $28,608,719. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Viasat in the 4th quarter worth approximately $830,000. Brightline Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brightline Capital Management LLC now owns 2,036,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $59,655,000 after buying an additional 36,000 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,325,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viasat in the 3rd quarter worth $1,241,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,713,581 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $108,808,000 after buying an additional 1,033,194 shares during the last quarter. 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.