Manatuck Hill Partners LLC Invests $1.82 Million in Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV)

Manatuck Hill Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 180,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,818,000. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Viavi Solutions at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westerly Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Viavi Solutions by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Westerly Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $14,645,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,517,015 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,422,000 after buying an additional 301,482 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viavi Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $358,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viavi Solutions by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,524,395 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $106,297,000 after acquiring an additional 171,746 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Viavi Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $162,000. 95.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viavi Solutions Stock Performance

VIAV stock traded down $0.03 on Wednesday, reaching $8.97. 728,447 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,828,193. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 3.18. Viavi Solutions Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.60 and a 12 month high of $12.91. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $10.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of -49.65 and a beta of 0.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VIAV shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com raised Viavi Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $13.00 target price (up previously from $12.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Viavi Solutions from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions from $11.50 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Luke M. Scrivanich sold 14,323 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.24, for a total transaction of $160,990.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,877 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,057.48. This represents a 20.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James L. Veler, Jr. sold 13,807 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.86, for a total value of $149,944.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 37,164 shares of company stock valued at $411,122. Insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

About Viavi Solutions

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.