Viasat Rallies on NASA Award and Post-Earnings Analyst Support

Viasat (VSAT) is up 16.3% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The sharp move higher appears tied to a fresh government-related catalyst and renewed confidence after last week’s earnings release. Investors likely reacted to Viasat’s selection for NASA’s NEXUS initiative, while several firms kept bullish ratings after earnings and one raised its price target, reinforcing the view that longer-term growth drivers remain intact despite a mixed quarter.

Details:

Viasat said on November 9 that NASA selected the company for phase 1 of the NEXUS initiative to help develop commercial Ka-band space relay services, with a maximum potential contract value of $460.9 million across future phases.

NASA separately listed Viasat as one of three awardees under the program and said the initial performance period runs from November 4, 2026 through May 3, 2027, with options that could extend work through 2029.

After Viasat’s fiscal second-quarter results, one analyst raised its price target to $125 and maintained a Buy rating, while other firms kept positive recommendations even as some trimmed targets.

In its latest shareholder letter, Viasat said quarterly revenue rose 3% year over year, defense and advanced technologies revenue climbed 20%, free cash flow reached $78 million, and backlog in that segment hit a record level, all of which may have supported the rebound.

Sources:

Viasat, NASA, Stock Analysis

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$VSAT Insider Trading Activity

$VSAT insiders have traded $VSAT stock on the open market 42 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 42 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $VSAT stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

MARK D DANKBERG (Chairman and CEO) has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 400,000 shares for an estimated $25,903,223.
RICHARD A BALDRIDGE has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 250,664 shares for an estimated $19,967,293.
BENJAMIN EDWARD PALMER (SVP, Pres Commercial) has made 0 purchases and 6 sales selling 32,608 shares for an estimated $2,446,136.
CRAIG ANDREW MILLER (SVP, Pres Viasat Government) has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 34,393 shares for an estimated $2,430,834.
ROBERT JAMES BLAIR (SVP, General Counsel) sold 27,064 shares for an estimated $2,158,673
GARRETT L. CHASE (SVP, Chief Financial Officer) has made 0 purchases and 16 sales selling 24,000 shares for an estimated $1,671,280.
THERESA WISE has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 5,000 shares for an estimated $384,225.
JOHN P STENBIT has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 1,797 shares for an estimated $140,210.

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

$VSAT Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 278 institutional investors add shares of $VSAT stock to their portfolio, and 203 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

REDWOOD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC added 2,203,640 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $197,908,908
CARRONADE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LP added 2,170,680 shares (+67.2%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $194,948,770
SIXTH STREET PARTNERS MANAGEMENT COMPANY, L.P. added 1,793,045 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $161,033,371
CONTOUR ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC removed 1,528,068 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $137,235,787
NORGES BANK added 1,452,017 shares (+1362.4%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $130,405,646
NEUBERGER BERMAN GROUP LLC removed 1,382,170 shares (-29.1%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $124,132,687
140 SUMMER PARTNERS LP added 1,338,859 shares (+147.5%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $120,242,926

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$VSAT Government Contracts

We have seen $358,883,292 of award payments to $VSAT over the last year.

Here are some of the awards which we have have seen pay out the most over the last year:

PTS-G SWARM 1 DESIGN, DEVELOP, TEST, AND PRODUCE GLOBAL VARIANTS OF THE PROTECTED TACTICAL SATCOM SPACE VEH...: $75,000,000
VIASAT TO16: $56,953,978
AEROSPACE VEHICLE EQUIPMENT AND GROUND OPERATING EQUIPMENT DEVELOPMENT: $33,671,000
VIASAT ESTABLISHMENT OF DELIVERY ORDER 15: $28,621,953
47QFLA25Q0043 VIASAT TO13 USMC: $26,403,818

To track government contracts to publicy traded companies, check out Quiver Quantitative's government contracts dashboard. You can access data on government contracts through the Quiver Quantitative API government contracts endpoint.

$VSAT Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $VSAT stock 2 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 2 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $VSAT stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:

REPRESENTATIVE JONATHAN L. JACKSON has traded it 2 times. They made 0 purchases and 2 sales worth up to $115,000 on 09/28, 08/28.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard. You can access data on congressional stock trades through the Quiver Quantitative API Congress trades endpoint.

$VSAT Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $VSAT recently. We have seen 2 analysts offer price targets for $VSAT in the last 6 months, with a median target of $98.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Ryan Koontz from Needham set a target price of $90.0 on 06/01/2026
Mike Crawford from B. Riley Securities set a target price of $106.0 on 05/29/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.