Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT)

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 9,946 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 60% compared to the average volume of 6,204 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viasat

In other Viasat news, Director Theresa Wise sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.69, for a total value of $211,725.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $931,590. The trade was a 18.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Garrett L. Chase sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.86, for a total value of $235,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 47,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,797,851.24. The trade was a 7.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 257,656 shares of company stock worth $20,475,905 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viasat

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in Viasat by 61.8% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat by 2.6% during the third quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 38,168 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,686,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 4.8% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,599 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its holdings in Viasat by 138.2% in the third quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 30,788 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,167,000 after purchasing an additional 17,861 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Viasat during the 3rd quarter worth $399,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VSAT traded up $5.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.02. 2,326,748 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,057,334. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -309.98 and a beta of 1.76. Viasat has a fifty-two week low of $29.13 and a fifty-two week high of $93.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.07. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.44% and a negative net margin of 0.64%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Viasat will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on VSAT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on Viasat in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised Viasat from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Viasat from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

Viasat Company Profile

Viasat, Inc is a communications technology company that provides satellite-based connectivity and related services to commercial, government and consumer customers. The company’s offerings include high-speed broadband, satellite communications, network services and connectivity solutions designed for locations where terrestrial networks may be limited or unavailable.

Viasat serves the aviation, maritime, residential broadband, enterprise and government markets. Its services support in-flight internet for commercial and business aircraft, connectivity for ships and offshore operations, broadband access for homes and communities, and secure communications for government and defense customers.