Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Viasat Inc.'s stock achieved a new 52-week high of $36.40 during trading, closing at $35.68 with a volume of 494,388 shares.
• Analysts have upgraded their ratings on Viasat, with JPMorgan raising the price target to $23.00 and Needham increasing it to $25.00, indicating a generally positive outlook.
• In the latest quarterly earnings, Viasat reported $0.17 earnings per share, exceeding expectations and showing a 4% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $36.40 and last traded at $35.68, with a volume of 494388 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VSAT. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.29.

Viasat Stock Up 5.8%

The firm has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.95 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $29.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.90.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.32. Viasat had a negative return on equity of 6.37% and a negative net margin of 13.11%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viasat news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $3,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 197,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,111,991. This trade represents a 33.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the first quarter worth $281,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Viasat in the first quarter valued at about $159,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 25.8% during the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 13,512 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,773 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 74.3% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 17,845 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 7,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hi Line Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viasat by 26.3% in the first quarter. Hi Line Capital Management LLC now owns 267,197 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,784,000 after buying an additional 55,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

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.

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