Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Sets New 52-Week High on Strong Earnings

Shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $41.50 and last traded at $40.2250, with a volume of 69246 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.81.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.20. Viasat had a negative return on equity of 6.37% and a negative net margin of 13.11%.The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Viasat’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on VSAT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viasat currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.88.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In related news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $3,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 197,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,111,991. This represents a 33.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Viasat during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchased a new position in Viasat during the third quarter valued at $28,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Viasat by 233.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,177 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its position in Viasat by 74.7% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,836 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.42 and a 200 day moving average of $21.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of -9.16 and a beta of 1.24.

About Viasat

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.