Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Trading Up 11.3% - Still a Buy?

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 11.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $10.98 and last traded at $10.60. 1,912,258 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 4,026,018 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VSAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Viasat from $24.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.43.

Viasat Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.36 and a 200-day moving average of $11.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.66 and a beta of 1.35.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.28% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. Research analysts predict that Viasat, Inc. will post -2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other Viasat 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 transaction of $32,824.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 350,351 shares in the company, valued at $3,226,732.71. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Viasat by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,445,811 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $53,083,000 after purchasing an additional 276,376 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its position in Viasat by 28.1% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 969,942 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Viasat by 5.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,887,537 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $16,063,000 after purchasing an additional 364,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viasat by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,229,116 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $10,460,000 after buying an additional 256,389 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.