FILE PHOTO: Viasat offices are shown at the company’s headquarters in Carlsbad, California, U.S. March 9, 2022.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Viasat’s stock soared on Monday after the Starlink competitor received an analyst endorsement from Deutsche Bank.
Shares of the satellite communications giant and competitor to Starlink – the satellite internet service owned and operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX – jumped more than 13% in afternoon trading after analyst Edison Yu upgraded the stock to buy from hold.
“We see multiple paths for the company to create equity value by materially deleveraging its balance sheet through asset monetization,” the analyst said in a note to clients Monday. “From a timing perspective, this may take 12-18 months to fully play out but we see the risk/reward profile at current levels being increasingly compelling.”
VSAT, 1-day
To be sure, Yu noted that he still has concerns regarding pressure from Starlink on Viasat’s core communication services business in the longer term. Starlink has recently made moves over the past year to expand its presence in various countries.
Earlier this month, Musk secured deals with Indian telecommunications companies Reliance’s Jio and Bharti Airtel to roll out Starlink’s internet services across the country. Prior to that, Musk also launched Starlink satellite internet services in Indonesia in May 2024.
Yu’s bullish call comes as Viasat shares have already grown substantially in 2025. Year to date, the stock has risen roughly 30%, far outpacing the S&P 500, which is off more than 2% in that period. In this month alone, the stock has advanced more than 25%.
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