Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Viasat Inc. reached a new 52-week high after JPMorgan Chase raised its price target from $10.00 to $23.00, with shares trading as high as $28.59.
• Several analysts have issued recent upgrades, with Needham & Company increasing their price objective to $25.00, indicating a buy rating.
• The company's stock has shown significant volatility, trading up 30.7% and achieving a market capitalization of $3.73 billion.

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $23.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Viasat traded as high as $28.59 and last traded at $27.82, with a volume of 17820668 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.29.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on VSAT. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. William Blair raised shares of Viasat from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. B. Riley dropped their target price on Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Viasat from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Viasat has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Viasat by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,041 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its position in Viasat by 328.7% during the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,131,429 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $16,518,000 after buying an additional 867,505 shares during the period. Cambiar Investors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 8.5% during the second quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 12,115 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Viasat by 18.7% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 15,596 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 343.3% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 312,895 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $4,568,000 after acquiring an additional 242,318 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Viasat Trading Up 30.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.02 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50-day moving average is $14.15 and its 200 day moving average is $11.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.32. Viasat had a negative net margin of 13.11% and a negative return on equity of 6.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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