Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Short Interest Up 19.2% in February

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 25,800,000 shares, an increase of 19.2% from the February 13th total of 21,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.9 days. Approximately 20.6% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $33,750,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,795,334 shares in the company, valued at $43,158,006. This represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Viasat by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 26,172 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 2,218 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 6.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 400,320 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $4,780,000 after purchasing an additional 24,889 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 63.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,623 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Viasat by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 66,227 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 3,807 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Viasat during the 3rd quarter valued at about $322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

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Viasat Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.78. The stock had a trading volume of 4,191,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,548,464. The business's 50 day moving average price is $9.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.12. Viasat has a 1 year low of $6.69 and a 1 year high of $26.70. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 8.37%. Research analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VSAT. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Viasat from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.57.

Viasat Company Profile

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.