Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $37.44, but opened at $41.29. Viasat shares last traded at $39.6950, with a volume of 204,096 shares changing hands.

Key Stories Impacting Viasat

Here are the key news stories impacting Viasat this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results meaningfully beat expectations — EPS of $0.79 vs. a ~$0.05 consensus and revenue of ~$1.16B (up ~3% YoY), driven by government satcom, aviation services and defense technologies; that upside is the primary catalyst for the stock rally. Viasat Q3 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are bullish: William Blair reiterated a Buy and other contributors have reiterated/maintained buy ratings and raised price targets, supporting further upside momentum. ViaSat: Share-Price Pullback and Strategic Catalysts Create a ‘Double Special Situation’ Buy Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Company reiterated strategic growth plans — outlines for ViaSat‑3 launches and a push for free‑cash‑flow growth via capital efficiency, plus Ka‑band efforts to strengthen government positioning, all point to multi‑quarter revenue and margin improvement if execution stays on track. Viasat outlines ViaSat-3 launches and targets free cash flow growth through capital efficiency
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarter presentation and transcript available for deeper diligence (slides/call). Investors should review the earnings deck and call transcript for segment-level trends and management commentary on timing and margins. Viasat Q3 press release, slide deck and call
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue vs. consensus was essentially flat to slightly below estimates ($1.16B vs. ~$1.17B) and the company still posts negative net margin/ROE metrics — improvement is clear versus the prior-year loss, but profitability remains a work in progress. Compared to Estimates, ViaSat (VSAT) Q3 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Execution/timing risk: several reports flagged satellite launch timing delays and sales misses in certain calendar periods — these operational timing issues are the main downside risk to the rally if they persist. Viasat Inc (VSAT) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strategic Growth Amid Satellite Delays
• Negative Sentiment: Some outlets noted a miss on certain sales expectations for the prior calendar quarter — a reminder that top‑line consistency across segments will be watched closely. Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) misses Q4 CY2025 sales expectations

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VSAT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viasat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Viasat from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Viasat in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viasat presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.86.

Viasat Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of -16.10 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 2.08.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, November 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.20. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.73% and a negative net margin of 7.34%.The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Viasat’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viasat

In other Viasat news, insider Benjamin Edward Palmer sold 2,780 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.06, for a total value of $100,246.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,003,585.86. The trade was a 9.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 100,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total value of $4,034,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,434,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,887,617.62. This represents a 6.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 359,339 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,768 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Viasat during the third quarter worth $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the third quarter worth about $28,000. 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Viasat during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Viasat in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

About Viasat

Viasat, Inc (NASDAQ: VSAT) provides high‐capacity satellite broadband and wireless communications services to consumer, commercial and government customers worldwide. The company designs and operates satellite systems and network infrastructure to deliver secure, high-speed connectivity across remote and underserved regions, as well as managed networking solutions for enterprises and public sector agencies.

Viasat’s product offerings include residential and enterprise satellite internet services, in-flight connectivity for commercial airlines and business jets, and secure networking platforms tailored to defense and intelligence users.