NEW YORK, June 29, 2026, 17:02 (EDT)
- Viasat ended the regular Nasdaq session up 23.8% at $76.69, with after-hours trading still open at the time.
- Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (NYSE:OPY) initiated coverage on Viasat, putting an Outperform call and a $140 price target on the stock. That’s 82.6% above where shares finished on Monday.
- Rocket Lab Corporation NASDAQ:RKLB is set to acquire Iridium Communications Inc. NASDAQ:IRDM in a deal valued around $8 billion. The move gives a new valuation for satellite networks, spectrum, and subscribers.
Viasat, Inc. NASDAQ:VSAT finished Monday up 23.8% at $76.69 after ending last week at $64.23 on June 22 and $61.95 on June 26, according to its historic quote page. Monday’s session was a standard one for the Nasdaq. The exchange shows July 3 as the next U.S. market holiday, not June 29, and lists regular trading hours as 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.
The data didn’t come from a same-day Viasat release. On Viasat’s investor-relations site, the most recent press release was the June 11 U.S. Space Force award, then earnings from May 28. What hit the screens today was a new sell-side target and news of a sector deal.
Here’s how stocks traded near the close:
| Instrument | Last price | Day move | Market value / proxy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viasat NASDAQ:VSAT | $76.69 | up 23.8% | $10.8 bln |
| Iridium Communications NASDAQ:IRDM | $54.59 | up 25.4% | $5.8 bln |
| Rocket Lab NASDAQ:RKLB | $98.01 | gained 15.9% | $59.3 bln |
| AST SpaceMobile Inc. NASDAQ:ASTS | $86.77 | up 21.3% | $25.2 bln |
| Globalstar Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:GSAT) | $81.13 | added 1.1% | $10.4 bln |
| Invesco QQQ Trust NASDAQ:QQQ | $724.08 | up 2.5% | Nasdaq proxy |
| iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM) | $298.97 | down 0.3% | small-cap proxy |
| ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF (BATS:ARKX) | $33.13 | up 3.9% | space/defense proxy |
Oppenheimer’s Timothy Horan started coverage on Viasat with an Outperform and a $140 price target. StockAnalysis, quoting TheFly, said the call hinges on Viasat’s spectrum value. After Monday’s move, that target is 57.5% higher than StockAnalysis’ average target of $88.88.
| Viasat reference point | Price / target | Gap from $76.69 close |
|---|---|---|
| Closed Friday | $61.95 | Monday finished up 23.8% |
| Past year’s high | $89.79 | 17.1% above |
| Analyst average target | $88.88 | 15.9% above |
| Oppenheimer’s target | $140.00 | 82.6% above |
This matters since a buyer at Monday’s close isn’t getting a big discount to the average listed target anymore. The buyer is now either betting on the higher end of estimates, or taking something from the Iridium sector move, or maybe both.
Rocket Lab said it would buy Iridium for $27 in cash plus Rocket Lab shares for each Iridium share, putting the notional value at $54 a share. Rocket Lab said the deal’s enterprise value is about $8 billion. Iridium has over 2.55 million active subscribers and global L-band spectrum, the company said.
Rocket Lab CEO Sir Peter Beck told Reuters the asset list comes with “the all-important spectrum.” Micah Walter Range, president at Caelus Partners, said the deal hands Rocket Lab “an initial customer base and distribution network,” which he thinks could be even bigger than the hardware and spectrum. Reuters
Viasat holds parts of that mix already. CEO Mark Dankberg told shareholders the company’s fleet expansion should about triple bandwidth inventory. For fiscal 2026, Viasat posted $4.9 billion in awards, $4.1 billion in backlog, revenue came in at $4.6 billion, and adjusted EBITDA totaled $1.6 billion. Free cash flow hit $177 million not counting the Ligado lump sum, after $993 million in capital spending.
Defense is in play here. On June 11, Viasat said the Space Force’s PTS-G program has a $4 billion IDIQ ceiling across all awardees. Viasat Government president Craig Miller said the company was “pleased to continue” its partnership with Space Force as the project heads to production. John Reeves, VP of Space and Mission Systems, pointed to work on a “small, maneuverable GEO capability.” Viasat, Inc.
With the new price, Viasat has less margin for misses. The company told shareholders it sees fiscal 2027 revenue growing in the mid-single digits. Adjusted EBITDA should be flat or up a bit. Capex is forecast at $950 million to $1.0 billion. Free cash flow is expected around $180 million, excluding any Ligado lump payments.
