Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Viavi Solutions from a "buy" to a "hold" rating on Saturday, while the analyst consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $23.13 average price target.
• Shares opened at $27.88 and were trading down about 10.1%, with a 52‑week range of $8.10–$35.61 and a market cap of roughly $6.45 billion.
• Viavi beat the quarter's estimates — $0.22 EPS vs. $0.19 expected and $369.3M revenue vs. $365.3M — with revenue up 36.4% year‑over‑year, although the company reported a negative net margin (~-3.38%).

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Viavi Solutions from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Viavi Solutions from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Monday, December 29th. Rosenblatt Securities set a $27.00 price target on Viavi Solutions in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Viavi Solutions from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.13.

Viavi Solutions Trading Down 10.1%

Shares of VIAV opened at $27.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -154.88 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.61. Viavi Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $8.10 and a fifty-two week high of $35.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.77.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $369.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.25 million. Viavi Solutions had a negative net margin of 3.38% and a positive return on equity of 13.03%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 36.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. Viavi Solutions has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.220-4.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Viavi Solutions will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin Christopher Siebert sold 7,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $252,641.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 28,384 shares in the company, valued at $987,195.52. The trade was a 20.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Paul Mcnab sold 3,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.89, for a total value of $116,792.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $598,532.22. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 516,765 shares of company stock valued at $13,306,119 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its stake 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. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 16.6% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,213,451 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $82,709,000 after buying an additional 1,166,547 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Viavi Solutions by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,846,226 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $86,875,000 after acquiring an additional 231,570 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew 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 acquiring an additional 33,463 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,351,211 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $95,373,000 after acquiring an additional 20,776 shares in the last quarter. 95.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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