Right now, if you're looking at your ticker, the VST stock price today per share is sitting at $169.73. It's a bit of a weird morning for Vistra Corp (NYSE: VST). We’re seeing a slight dip of about 1% from yesterday’s close of $171.42.
Honestly, it’s just the usual market noise.
You’ve got a stock that has basically turned into the poster child for the "AI needs electricity" trade. One minute it’s the darling of Wall Street because of a massive nuclear deal, and the next, traders are taking profits because they’re worried about the debt being piled on for new acquisitions. It’s a rollercoaster. But if you're holding VST, you probably already knew that.
The Reality of VST Stock Price Today Per Share
Let’s look at the actual numbers for January 14, 2026. The stock opened at $169.39 and has been bouncing around between a low of $168.02 and a high of $171.00.
Volatile? Sorta.
Compared to where it was a year ago, the 52-week range is pretty wild, spanning from $90.51 to $219.82. You can see why people are nervous. When a stock more than doubles in a year, everyone starts looking for the exit door at the same time.
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Today's volume is steady, with nearly half a million shares changing hands in the first hour of trading. It’s clear that institutional investors are still very much in the room. They aren't just watching the price; they're watching the underlying power grid.
Why the Meta Deal is a Game Changer
The biggest reason anyone is even talking about the VST stock price today per share is that 20-year deal with Meta. It’s massive.
Vistra is basically becoming the "battery" for Meta’s AI ambitions. We are talking about 2,600 megawatts of zero-carbon nuclear power. This isn't just a "good quarter" kind of news. This is a "two-decade revenue certainty" kind of news.
- Cash Flow Accretion: Analysts at UBS recently bumped their price target to $233 because of this. They think this deal alone adds 13% to 17% to the company's free cash flow compared to previous 2026 estimates.
- The Nuclear Fleet: Even with this Meta deal, Vistra still has about 48% of its nuclear fleet uncontracted. That means they have plenty of room to sign more deals with other tech giants who are desperate for clean, 24/7 power.
- Pricing Power: Capacity prices are hitting record highs. We’re seeing $330 per MW-day in some regions. Vistra is sitting on a goldmine of existing infrastructure that would take a decade to build from scratch.
Is Vistra Overvalued or Just Getting Started?
This is where it gets kind of complicated.
The P/E ratio is sitting north of 60 right now. In the old world of utilities, that would be considered insane. Usually, you look at a utility and expect a P/E of 15 or 20. But Vistra isn't trading like a utility anymore. It’s trading like a tech enabler.
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Some analysts, like those at Scotiabank, have a price target way up at $293. They see the Cogentrix acquisition—which added 5,500 MW of gas capacity—as a brilliant move to capture the massive surge in data center demand.
But not everyone is drinking the Kool-Aid.
Jefferies recently lowered their target to $191. They’re worried about the PJM market (the power grid for much of the Northeast) and the uncertainty of future capacity auctions. Plus, Vistra just priced $2.25 billion in new senior secured notes. That’s a lot of debt to carry, even if it is for growth.
The Debt and the Dividend
The debt-to-equity ratio is around 5.74. That’s a high number.
S&P Global Ratings recently gave their new notes a 'BBB-' rating, which is investment grade, but only just. The company is betting the house on the fact that power demand will continue to skyrocket as AI models get bigger and thirstier.
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If you're a dividend seeker, Vistra pays out about $0.91 per year, which is a yield of roughly 0.53%. It's not a "get rich off dividends" play. The board did authorize another $1.0 billion in share repurchases, though, which shows they think the stock is still a good value.
What to Watch Next
If you're tracking the VST stock price today per share, don't just stare at the line on the chart. Watch the 2026 guidance.
Vistra is projecting an adjusted EBITDA between $6.8 billion and $7.6 billion for 2026. If they hit the high end of that, the current price of $169 might actually look cheap in retrospect. But if construction on those new gas units in West Texas hits delays, or if the Meta deal faces regulatory hurdles, things could get ugly fast.
Actionable Steps for Investors:
- Monitor the Fed: Utilities and power producers are sensitive to interest rates because of their high debt loads. If rates stay higher for longer, that $2.25 billion in new notes gets more expensive to refinance.
- Check the "Uprates": Vistra is planning to squeeze more power out of their existing nuclear plants. Any news on "uprate" approvals from the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) will likely pop the stock.
- Wait for the Q4 Report: The full-year 2025 results are coming soon. Look for any changes in the 2027 "midpoint opportunity" of $7.4 billion to $7.8 billion in EBITDA. That’s the real target the big money is aiming for.
- Watch the Insider Selling: We saw some executive selling around the $174 mark recently. It’s not always a red flag, but it’s worth noting when the people running the company decide to take some chips off the table.
The VST story is basically a bet on the future of American infrastructure. It's messy, it's expensive, and it's high-stakes. But in a world that can't get enough electricity, being the one who owns the switches is a very powerful position to be in.