Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Shares Down 7.4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Viavi Solutions shares fell 7.4% on Friday, trading as low as $46.45 before closing near $46.69, well below the prior close of $50.44.
• Despite the pullback, analyst sentiment remains constructive: six analysts rate the stock a Buy and three a Hold, with an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $42.75.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $0.27 EPS versus $0.24 expected and revenue of $406.8 million, while insiders have been selling shares in recent months.

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) traded down 7.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $46.45 and last traded at $46.6880. Approximately 1,043,169 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 6,347,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VIAV. Susquehanna raised their target price on Viavi Solutions from $25.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions from $26.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Viavi Solutions from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Viavi Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.75.

Viavi Solutions Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.23 and a 200 day moving average of $34.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -197.70 and a beta of 1.18.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.03. Viavi Solutions had a positive return on equity of 16.80% and a negative net margin of 4.03%.The business had revenue of $406.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $393.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Viavi Solutions has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.290-0.310 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viavi Solutions Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Paul Mcnab sold 2,727 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.96, for a total value of $149,875.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $850,286.16. This trade represents a 14.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Doug Gilstrap sold 10,000 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $550,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 55,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,067,130. The trade was a 15.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 450,369 shares of company stock worth $23,789,119. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VIAV. WPG Advisers LLC raised its position 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,400 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Viavi Solutions by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 24,555 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in Viavi Solutions by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 32,572 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 51,094 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 95.54% of the stock is owned by 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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