Why Viasat Stock Trounced the Market on Wednesday

A product deployment in a large South American country was the news item providing a healthy lift to Viasat's (NASDAQ: VSAT) shares on Wednesday. Investors traded up the satellite company's stock by more than 3%, providing a pleasant contrast to the 0.3% decline of the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) that day.

Getting on the bus

Viasat announced that day that Satélite Norte, a municipal transportation company based in Brazil, is officially the first entity to go live with Viasat's Digital Bus connectivity system. Digital Bus, which provides satellite connections for passengers, is now available on Satélite Norte buses plying routes between the municipality of Goiânia and the city of São Paulo.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Image source: Getty Images.

That isn't exactly a limited route -- the two are more than 500 miles apart, so Viasat's system will get quite the robust workout. What also helps is the popularity of bus transport in the sprawling South American country. With its vast distances and the prohibitive costs and/or lack of routes by air or rail, bus travel is a go-to option for travelers there.

In its press release touting the rollout, Viasat pointed out that Digital Bus "enables bus operators to implement monetization strategies through targeted and dynamic advertising, as well as gather passenger feedback and insights."

A justified reaction

In writing this, Viasat is stressing that its solutions aren't just convenient for users -- they can be monetized too. On top of the positive news of a product going live for the first time, this illustration of the company's competitive advantages is encouraging. I think the bullish investor reaction was fully justified for Viasat.

Should you invest $1,000 in Viasat right now?

Before you buy stock in Viasat, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Viasat wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $649,102!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $882,344!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 996% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 174% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.