Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Stock Price Down 5.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Viavi Solutions shares fell 5.4% on Thursday, trading as low as $49.87 and finishing near $50.21, on volume well below its daily average.
• Analysts remain constructive overall after several firms raised price targets, with six Buy ratings and three Hold ratings giving the stock a “Moderate Buy” consensus.
• The company beat fiscal Q3 expectations, reporting EPS of $0.27 on revenue of $406.8 million, and revenue jumped 42.8% year over year; however, recent insider selling may have weighed on sentiment.

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) was down 5.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $49.87 and last traded at $50.2110. Approximately 2,039,202 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 5,927,728 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VIAV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Viavi Solutions from $26.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Viavi Solutions from $27.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on Viavi Solutions from $25.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Viavi Solutions from $25.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Viavi Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viavi Solutions has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.25.

Viavi Solutions Stock Down 6.6%

The firm has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -206.29 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.54 and a 200-day moving average of $29.38.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $406.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $393.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. Viavi Solutions has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.290-0.310 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Viavi Solutions Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Oleg Khaykin sold 136,547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.82, for a total value of $7,075,865.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,188,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,603,512.36. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Luke M. Scrivanich sold 10,693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $566,729.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 39,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,082,211. The trade was a 21.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 461,184 shares of company stock worth $24,158,554 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VIAV. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 183,320 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 18,910 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Viavi Solutions by 110.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,663 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 17,673 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Viavi Solutions by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 131,061 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 5,775 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Viavi Solutions by 205.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 476,767 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $5,335,000 after purchasing an additional 320,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Viavi Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $165,000. 95.54% of the stock is currently 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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