Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Viavi Solutions reported earnings of $0.13 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.12, while also exceeding revenue forecasts with $290.5 million for the quarter.
• After the earnings announcement, the stock price jumped from $10.16 to an opening of $12.40, reflecting strong market interest, although it last traded at $11.22.
• Several analysts revised their ratings, with UBS lowering their price target to $11.00 while Susquehanna and Needham upgraded their ratings to "positive" and "buy," respectively, both setting price targets at $15.00.

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $10.16, but opened at $12.40. Viavi Solutions shares last traded at $11.22, with a volume of 1,945,625 shares traded.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $290.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.19 million. Viavi Solutions had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 3.21%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.08 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley upped their price objective on Viavi Solutions from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $13.50 price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Susquehanna raised Viavi Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Viavi Solutions from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $13.17.

Insider Activity at Viavi Solutions

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,997 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 19,669 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 57,314 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 49,708 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 2,683 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new stake in Viavi Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth $4,532,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Viavi Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth $128,000. 95.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viavi Solutions Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 68.32 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.36.

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.