Investors Purchase High Volume of Viasat Put Options (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 8,441 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 242% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,469 put options.

Viasat Trading Down 14.8 %

Shares of VSAT traded down $2.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.79. The stock had a trading volume of 7,777,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,648,192. Viasat has a fifty-two week low of $11.76 and a fifty-two week high of $29.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.47 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.16. Viasat had a negative net margin of 22.13% and a negative return on equity of 19.76%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.83) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Viasat will post -1.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 2,811,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $55,947,695.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,545,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $170,052,146.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 11,033.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter worth approximately $72,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,025 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VSAT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Viasat from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Viasat from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Viasat from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Viasat from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Viasat from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viasat presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.17.

About Viasat

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.