Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VIAV. Wall Street Zen raised Viavi Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 target price on Viavi Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. B. Riley Financial reduced their price target on Viavi Solutions from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Viavi Solutions from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, November 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.83.

Viavi Solutions Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of VIAV stock traded down $1.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $30.72. 5,109,325 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,828,286. The stock has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.94. Viavi Solutions has a 52-week low of $15.51 and a 52-week high of $60.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $469.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.06 million. Viavi Solutions had a net margin of 3.97% and a return on equity of 25.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 56.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Viavi Solutions will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viavi Solutions

In other news, SVP Luke M. Scrivanich sold 35,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $1,299,783.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 39,598 shares in the company, valued at $1,435,031.52. This trade represents a 47.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Laura A. Black sold 71,000 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.12, for a total value of $3,274,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 71,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,297,441.64. The trade was a 49.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 211,905 shares of company stock worth $8,360,077 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viavi Solutions during the second quarter worth about $1,228,529,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 1,402.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,639,752 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $236,418,000 after acquiring an additional 5,264,496 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Viavi Solutions in the second quarter worth approximately $134,922,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Viavi Solutions in the second quarter worth approximately $87,914,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Viavi Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $22,779,000. 95.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viavi Solutions News Summary

These are some of the VIAV news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Viavi was upgraded to Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), reflecting improving earnings expectations. Viavi Solutions upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a quarterly earnings beat, an upbeat Q2 outlook and growing data-center opportunities, supported by demand for optical testing. Analysts have also raised earnings estimates, adding to the growth case. Q1 results and Q2 outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Viavi joined a UK project to integrate 5G into Blackpool’s transportation network. The project may showcase its technology, though the report provides no financial details on its potential impact. Blackpool 5G transportation project

Viavi Solutions Company Profile

Viavi Solutions Inc. develops testing, monitoring and assurance solutions for communications networks. Its products and software help service providers, equipment makers and enterprises build, maintain and troubleshoot fiber-optic, broadband, wireless and other network infrastructure, including technologies used in 5G and data centers. The company also makes optical technologies and security products, including features used to authenticate banknotes, identity documents and branded goods. These offerings support applications in areas such as anti-counterfeiting, document security and optical coatings.