Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.94, but opened at $10.37. Viavi Solutions shares last traded at $10.37, with a volume of 51,136 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VIAV shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Viavi Solutions from $8.25 to $10.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Viavi Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $10.60 price target on the stock. B. Riley decreased their price target on Viavi Solutions from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Northland Securities increased their target price on Viavi Solutions from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.44.

Viavi Solutions Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -61.23 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.71, a quick ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.35.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. Viavi Solutions had a positive return on equity of 2.22% and a negative net margin of 3.78%. The firm had revenue of $238.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.09 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Viavi Solutions Inc. will post 0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Paul Mcnab sold 5,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.45, for a total transaction of $50,024.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $291,905.25. The trade was a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Masood Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.14, for a total value of $152,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 225,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,284,876.62. This trade represents a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,949 shares of company stock valued at $489,511. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viavi Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 15,938 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 4,875 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viavi Solutions by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,307,974 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $47,887,000 after purchasing an additional 54,633 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 538,261 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,856,000 after purchasing an additional 22,893 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in Viavi Solutions by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 37,480 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 9,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC raised its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 189.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 280,239 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,528,000 after buying an additional 183,481 shares during the period. 95.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viavi Solutions Company Profile

Viavi Solutions Inc provides network test, monitoring, and assurance solutions for communications service providers, hyperscalers, network equipment manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers, government, and avionics customers in the Americas, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.