Short Interest in Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Increases By 19.2%

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 25,800,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the February 13th total of 21,650,000 shares. Approximately 20.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.9 days.

Viasat Stock Performance

VSAT opened at $9.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.92 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Viasat has a 12-month low of $6.69 and a 12-month high of $26.70.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.70). Viasat had a negative return on equity of 8.37% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Viasat will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viasat

In other news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $33,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,795,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 86,102 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 5,660 shares in the last quarter. Helium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viasat during the 4th quarter worth approximately $326,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Viasat by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 19,715 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 3,940 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Viasat by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 149,070 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 44,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VSAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Viasat in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Viasat from $26.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viasat has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.57.

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.