Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Viavi Solutions a “Moderate Buy”: Six of nine brokerages recommend buying the stock, with an average 12-month price target of $42.88. Individual targets range as high as $70, though ratings include two holds and one sell.
• Recent financial results exceeded expectations: Viavi reported quarterly EPS of $0.27 versus the $0.24 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $406.8 million and grew 42.8% year over year.
• Insiders have been selling shares: Company insiders sold approximately $23.8 million worth of stock over the past 90 days, while institutional investors hold 95.54% of outstanding shares.

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $42.8750.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Viavi Solutions from $25.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Viavi Solutions from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Viavi Solutions from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Viavi Solutions from $26.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th.

Viavi Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of VIAV stock opened at $35.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -146.24 and a beta of 1.18. The business's 50 day moving average is $46.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Viavi Solutions has a 12-month low of $9.61 and a 12-month high of $60.43.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $406.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $393.80 million. Viavi Solutions had a positive return on equity of 16.80% and a negative net margin of 4.03%.The business's revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Viavi Solutions will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viavi Solutions news, EVP Paul Mcnab sold 2,727 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.96, for a total transaction of $149,875.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at $850,286.16. The trade was a 14.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin Christopher Siebert sold 8,255 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.02, for a total transaction of $445,935.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 20,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,087,368.58. This trade represents a 29.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 450,369 shares of company stock worth $23,789,119 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Viavi Solutions

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viavi Solutions by 96.2% during the 1st quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 775 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Viavi Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viavi Solutions by 83.2% in the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 852 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viavi Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Viavi Solutions during the first quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.54% of the company's stock.

About Viavi Solutions

Viavi Solutions Inc is a provider of network test, monitoring and assurance solutions for communications service providers, cable operators, enterprises and government agencies. The company offers an extensive portfolio of fiber optic and copper cable test and measurement instruments, wireless network testing equipment and network performance monitoring software. Its products are designed to support the deployment, maintenance and optimization of high-speed broadband, 5G wireless, data center and enterprise networks.

Viavi's product offerings are organized into two primary segments: Network & Service Enablement and Optical Security & Performance.

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