Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Shares Climb 5.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Viavi Solutions shares rose 5.1% to about $44.05, with trading volume well below its daily average.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $55.43, despite some target-price reductions.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.34 in EPS and $443.1 million in revenue, up 52.5% year over year; however, insiders sold nearly 200,000 shares worth about $8 million during the quarter.

Shares of Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) shot up 5.1% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $44.12 and last traded at $44.0520. Approximately 2,090,480 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 6,033,106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VIAV. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Viavi Solutions from $60.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on shares of Viavi Solutions from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Viavi Solutions from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Viavi Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.43.

Viavi Solutions Trading Up 6.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -298.04 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.18.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. Viavi Solutions had a positive return on equity of 19.60% and a negative net margin of 2.00%.The business had revenue of $443.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $432.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. Viavi Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 52.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Viavi Solutions has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.400-0.420 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Viavi Solutions Inc. will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Luke Scrivanich sold 35,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $1,299,783.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 39,598 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,435,031.52. This represents a 47.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Paul McNab sold 11,032 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.97, for a total transaction of $429,917.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,151.83. This trade represents a 30.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 199,694 shares of company stock valued at $7,976,233 over the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Viavi Solutions in the second quarter valued at about $1,228,529,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,620,410 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $278,356,000 after purchasing an additional 664,956 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Viavi Solutions by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,673,145 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $118,915,000 after buying an additional 33,463 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,351,211 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $95,373,000 after purchasing an additional 20,776 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Viavi Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $134,922,000. 95.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Viavi Solutions

Viavi Solutions Inc NASDAQ: VIAV develops test, measurement, and assurance technologies for communications networks, optical systems, and related industrial applications. Its solutions are used by network equipment manufacturers, communications service providers, contractors, and government organizations to install, validate, monitor, and maintain wired and wireless networks.

The company's offerings include instruments and software for fiber-optic testing, network performance monitoring, service activation, troubleshooting, and assurance.

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