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

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

Viasat Stock Up 2.3 %

Viasat stock opened at $10.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of -3.00 and a beta of 1.38. Viasat has a 12 month low of $6.69 and a 12 month high of $26.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Viasat in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Viasat from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viasat 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 value of $33,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,795,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,158,006. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viasat

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Helium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Viasat by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 19,715 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Viasat by 43.0% during the fourth 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 worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 44,804 shares in the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter worth approximately $93,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Viasat by 2,262.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 539,534 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $4,591,000 after purchasing an additional 516,700 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Company Profile

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.