Viasat Inc. shares fell as much as 36% Thursday, on track for a record drop if losses hold, after the company said an unexpected event occurred during one of its deployments that could hinder performance of a communication satellite.
The impacted satellite, the ViaSat-3 Americas, was launched April 30 on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket and is part of the company’s plans to bolster its North American broadband business. Viasat is working to resolve the issue and there has been no impact to coverage or disruption to customers, the company said.
“This issue could be a major blow to the timing of the Viasat growth story, as Viasat-2 (VS-2) has been capacity constrained in the Americas for many quarters, and the company has been counting on VS-3A to expand capacity in the Americas and resume fixed broadband subscriber growth,” Raymond James analyst Ric Prentiss wrote in a note.
While the setback is frustrating for the Carlsbad, California-based company, the stock fallout may be an overreaction, according to William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma.
“We believe this stock selloff is largely driven by emotion as there are a number of mitigating factors that soften the blow,” DiPalma wrote in a note, adding that Viasat still has global coverage following its Inmarsat acquisition, can use a second satellite to cover North America and will likely receive a hefty insurance claim from the issue.
