Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) Stock Position Raised by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Free Report) by 201.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 49,200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 32,867 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Viavi Solutions were worth $497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VIAV. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Viavi Solutions by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,614,684 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $198,108,000 after purchasing an additional 4,085,648 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in Viavi Solutions by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,040,890 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $70,972,000 after purchasing an additional 112,978 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Viavi Solutions by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,475,819 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $35,106,000 after purchasing an additional 435,265 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 4.4% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 139,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viavi Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $16,722,000. 95.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Viavi Solutions from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Viavi Solutions from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Northland Securities reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $14.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Viavi Solutions from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.69.

Viavi Solutions Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of VIAV stock traded down $0.31 on Monday, hitting $9.03. The stock had a trading volume of 6,171,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,823,731. Viavi Solutions Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.60 and a 52-week high of $12.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 3.55. The stock's 50 day moving average is $10.59 and its 200-day moving average is $10.54.

Insider Transactions at Viavi Solutions

In related news, EVP Paul Mcnab sold 9,034 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.09, for a total value of $100,187.06. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at $430,014.75. This represents a 18.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Luke M. Scrivanich sold 14,323 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.24, for a total transaction of $160,990.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 55,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,057.48. This trade represents a 20.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,164 shares of company stock valued at $411,122. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.