Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Short Interest Up 448,553.8% in July

Key Points

• Viasat Inc. experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising by 448,553.8% in July, with total short interest reaching 23,330,000 shares.
• The stock is currently rated "Hold" by analysts, with an average price target of $19.00, although some analysts have set varying target prices, with ranges between $16.00 to $56.00.
• Institutional investors hold 86.05% of Viasat's stock, with notable recent investments from firms like Raymond James and Vanguard Group.

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 23,330,000 shares, anincreaseof448,553.8% from the June 30th total of 5,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 3,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in Viasat by 15.1% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 6,753 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Viasat by 1.8% in the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 78,623 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Viasat by 2.9% in the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 52,738 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in Viasat by 74.7% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,836 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Viasat by 11.4% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 16,673 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on VSAT shares. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. B. Riley lowered their price target on Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Viasat from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Viasat from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Viasat Stock Performance

VSAT stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.58. The stock had a trading volume of 4,507,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,281,551. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.73 and a beta of 1.20. Viasat has a 52 week low of $6.69 and a 52 week high of $26.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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.