Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) Short Interest Up 19.2% in February

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) was the target of a large 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. Currently, 20.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on VSAT shares. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on Viasat from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Viasat from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.57.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other Viasat news, insider Cpp Investment Board Private H sold 3,750,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 4,795,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,158,006. The trade was a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viasat

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Viasat by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 86,102 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 5,660 shares during the period. Helium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter worth about $326,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 19,715 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 3,940 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viasat by 43.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 44,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the fourth quarter worth about $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Viasat Trading Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $9.82 on Wednesday. Viasat has a 1-year low of $6.69 and a 1-year high of $26.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $9.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.92 and a beta of 1.38.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 8.37%. On average, equities analysts expect that Viasat will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.