Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Shares of Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $8.51, but opened at $8.80. Viasat shares last traded at $9.58, with a volume of 958,881 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Viasat from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Viasat from $31.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Viasat from $28.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Viasat from $24.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.33.

Viasat Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.05 and a beta of 1.34. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $9.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.54) by ($0.53). Viasat had a negative net margin of 8.73% and a negative return on equity of 7.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($6.16) earnings per share. Viasat's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Viasat, Inc. will post -2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In related news, EVP Mark J. Miller sold 3,564 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total value of $32,824.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 350,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,226,732.71. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Viasat by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,445,811 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $53,083,000 after purchasing an additional 276,376 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its position in Viasat by 28.1% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,419,223 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $52,766,000 after acquiring an additional 969,942 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Viasat by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,508,056 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $29,950,000 after acquiring an additional 122,472 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viasat by 8.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,523,465 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $18,190,000 after acquiring an additional 115,909 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 1,145.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 816,478 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $10,369,000 after acquiring an additional 750,904 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.