Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Barclays upgraded Viasat to an equal-weight rating and raised its price target to $49 (from $23), sending shares to a new 52-week high of $59.19; the stock last traded around $56.33.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive — six Buy, one Hold and one Sell lead to a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $51.43 average target, while firms like Deutsche Bank and Needham recently raised targets to $48 and $58 respectively.
• Company insiders have been selling: two SVPs disclosed recent sales (5,260 shares at ~$50 and 2,400 shares at ~$46.21), with insiders offloading ~40,881 shares worth $1.94M in the past three months; institutional investors own about 86.05% of the stock.

Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Barclays upgraded the stock from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating. Barclays now has a $49.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $23.00. Viasat traded as high as $59.19 and last traded at $56.33, with a volume of 2101646 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $53.88.

VSAT has been the topic of several other research reports. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Viasat from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Viasat from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Craig Andrew Miller sold 5,260 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $263,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 21,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,062,600. This trade represents a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.21, for a total value of $110,904.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,166.51. The trade was a 8.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 40,881 shares of company stock worth $1,939,317 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Viasat during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Viasat by 6,815.4% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 899 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Viasat during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Viasat Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.01. The company has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.75 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Viasat Company Profile

Viasat, Inc NASDAQ: VSAT provides high‐capacity satellite broadband and wireless communications services to consumer, commercial and government customers worldwide. The company designs and operates satellite systems and network infrastructure to deliver secure, high-speed connectivity across remote and underserved regions, as well as managed networking solutions for enterprises and public sector agencies.

Viasat's product offerings include residential and enterprise satellite internet services, in-flight connectivity for commercial airlines and business jets, and secure networking platforms tailored to defense and intelligence users.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.