LMR Partners LLP Acquires Shares of 800,000 Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV)

LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 800,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,080,000. LMR Partners LLP owned about 0.36% of Viavi Solutions at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,334,893 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $33,682,000 after buying an additional 139,934 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Viavi Solutions by 185.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 111,730 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 72,599 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Viavi Solutions by 836.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 8,323 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 7,434 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Viavi Solutions by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 43,732 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Viavi Solutions by 201.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 49,200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 32,867 shares during the period. 95.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus raised their target price on shares of Viavi Solutions from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 31st. B. Riley reduced their price objective on Viavi Solutions from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Viavi Solutions from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.69.

Viavi Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Viavi Solutions stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.34. 3,612,075 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,867,991. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.52. Viavi Solutions Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.60 and a 1 year high of $12.91. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.89 and a beta of 0.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Paul Mcnab sold 9,034 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.09, for a total transaction of $100,187.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,775 shares in the company, valued at $430,014.75. This trade represents a 18.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Belluzzo sold 8,385 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total transaction of $74,794.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 259,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,311,002.52. This trade represents a 3.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,549 shares of company stock worth $485,916 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Viavi Solutions 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.