Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s share price gapped up prior to trading 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 changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Viasat from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Viasat from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Viasat from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Six 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, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Viasat Stock Performance

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 price-to-earnings ratio of -3.53 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSAT. Long Focus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Viasat during the 1st quarter valued at about $24,695,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Viasat during the 1st quarter valued at about $20,593,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Viasat by 673.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,935 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Viasat by 64.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,338 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Viasat by 538.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,136,675 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,673,000 after acquiring an additional 958,706 shares during the period. 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.