Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 222,690 Shares of Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by 52.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 647,168 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 222,690 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of Viasat worth $18,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VSAT. OCO Capital Partners L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Viasat by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. OCO Capital Partners L.P. now owns 6,000,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $87,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250,000 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Viasat by 12,255.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,404,800 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,430 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Viasat by 96.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,680,387 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,134,000 after buying an additional 1,318,524 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 673.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,386,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $14,443,000 after buying an additional 1,206,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viasat by 64.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,866,242 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,866,000 after buying an additional 1,128,338 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on VSAT. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Viasat in a report on Friday, January 16th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Viasat from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Viasat from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viasat news, CEO Mark D. Dankberg sold 100,000 shares of Viasat stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,434,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,887,617.62. The trade was a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Shawn Lynn Duffy sold 51,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $1,872,842.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,021 shares in the company, valued at $219,043.98. This trade represents a 89.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 359,339 shares of company stock worth $13,240,768 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Viasat News Roundup

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

Viasat Trading Up 11.4%

VSAT opened at $41.70 on Monday. Viasat Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.36 and a twelve month high of $49.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.86 and a 200-day moving average of $33.69. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of -16.10 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, November 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

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.