Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on VIAV. UBS Group began coverage on Viavi Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $10.60 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Viavi Solutions from $10.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Northland Securities lifted their price target on shares of Viavi Solutions from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Viavi Solutions from $8.25 to $10.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $9.50 price objective (up from $8.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.44.

Viavi Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIAV traded down $0.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $10.13. 1,122,669 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,139,414. Viavi Solutions has a 12-month low of $6.60 and a 12-month high of $11.49. The company has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of -59.58 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.71, a quick ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Viavi Solutions

In other news, Director Masood Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.17, for a total value of $137,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 213,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,923.38. The trade was a 6.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Luke M. Scrivanich sold 2,802 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.43, for a total transaction of $29,224.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 54,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $568,612.31. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,802 shares of company stock valued at $318,875 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIAV. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 24.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 11,900 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Viavi Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 53.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,388 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 3,252 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Viavi Solutions by 7.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 58,761 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 4,043 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 44.1% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 15,938 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 4,875 shares in the last quarter. 95.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viavi Solutions Company Profile

Viavi Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of network test, monitoring, and assurance solutions for communications service providers, enterprises, network equipment manufacturers, government and avionics. It operates through the following segments: Network Enablement, Service Enablement, and Optical Security and Performance.