Exploring Viasat Inc: Earnings through Put Options Strategy

Investors looking to acquire Viasat Inc (Symbol: VSAT) stock may find the current market price of $9.35/share a bit daunting. As an alternative strategy, selling puts could prove beneficial. A notable option is the January 2026 put with a $7.50 strike price, which currently has a bid of $1.20. Accepting this premium represents a 16% return based on the $7.50 commitment, equating to a 22.3% annualized rate of return, referred to as YieldBoost in certain analyses.

However, selling a put does not provide investors with the same upside potential as owning shares directly. A put seller only acquires shares if the contract is exercised, which only occurs if the share price drops below the strike price of $7.50. In such a case, the seller’s effective cost basis would be $6.30 per share after factoring in the premium collected, provided the stock falls by 20.2% from its current price. Thus, the real advantage for the put seller is the premium received, which equates to a 22.3% annualized return—assuming the stock does not dip below the strike price.

Below is a chart illustrating the trailing twelve-month trading history for Viasat Inc, which indicates where the $7.50 strike price falls in relation to this history:

This chart, combined with Viasat’s historical volatility, serves as a helpful resource for assessing whether selling the January 2026 put at the $7.50 strike for a 22.3% annualized return is a suitable risk-reward proposition. We calculated the trailing twelve-month volatility for Viasat Inc, using the last 250 trading days and the current price of $9.35, to be 97%.

In mid-afternoon trading on Tuesday, the put volume among S&P 500 components reached 775,332 contracts, matching call volume precisely, resulting in a put:call ratio of 0.73. This figure indicates a higher-than-normal interest in put contracts, as the long-term median put:call ratio is 0.65. Consequently, this trend suggests that there are more put buyers than projected in today’s options trading activity.

For access to additional put option strategies and expirations, please refer to the VSAT Options page on StockOptionsChannel.com.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.