Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 41,084 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 954% compared to the typical volume of 3,899 call options.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 100,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total transaction of $4,034,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,434,993 shares in the company, valued at $57,887,617.62. The trade was a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.21, for a total transaction of $110,904.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 25,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,166.51. This represents a 8.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 105,210 shares of company stock valued at $4,279,784. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 483.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 109,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 90,680 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Viasat by 189.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 452,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,692,000 after purchasing an additional 296,612 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Viasat by 673.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $14,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,935 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $29,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after buying an additional 14,575 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 16th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.86.

Viasat Stock Performance

Shares of Viasat stock opened at $50.18 on Wednesday. Viasat has a 12 month low of $7.36 and a 12 month high of $50.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of -19.37 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.95.

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.