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

Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) 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.