Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Viavi Solutions Inc. experienced a dramatic rise in short interest, with total shares short increasing by 138,990.9% from the previous month, now totaling 7,650,000 shares.
• Insider trading activity shows that Director Richard Belluzzo sold 8,385 shares for approximately $84,017, reducing his ownership by 3.34%.
• Institutional investors own 95.54% of Viavi Solutions' stock, with notable recent activity including Envestnet Asset Management increasing its stake by 27.5%.

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,650,000 shares, anincreaseof138,990.9% from the June 30th total of 5,500 shares. Currently,3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently,3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viavi Solutions

In other news, Director Richard Belluzzo sold 8,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.02, for a total value of $84,017.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 242,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,427,956.22. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 261,801 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,636,000 after buying an additional 1,302 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Viavi Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,344,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 742,875 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $7,481,000 after buying an additional 160,028 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 207,199 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,086,000 after buying an additional 36,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 344.8% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 22,032 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 17,079 shares in the last quarter. 95.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VIAV shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $13.50 price target on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Viavi Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Viavi Solutions from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Viavi Solutions from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viavi Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.69.

Viavi Solutions Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Viavi Solutions stock traded down $0.28 on Friday, reaching $9.78. The company had a trading volume of 939,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,146,466. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $9.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.36. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 488.49 and a beta of 0.88. Viavi Solutions has a 52-week low of $7.03 and a 52-week high of $12.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.53.

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.

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