Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $15.72, but opened at $16.80. Viasat shares last traded at $16.37, with a volume of 534,985 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Viasat from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Viasat from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price target on Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Viasat Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of -3.53 and a beta of 1.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake 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 valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Viasat by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,473 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Viasat by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its stake in Viasat by 74.7% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,836 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.