Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Trading Down 9.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Viavi Solutions shares fell 9.3% to about $31.84 in mid-day trading, with volume below the average session level.
• Despite the sell-off, analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $42.88; six analysts rate the stock Buy, two Hold, and one Sell.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.27 EPS versus $0.24 expected and revenue of $406.8 million, up 42.8% year over year. However, insiders sold approximately $23.8 million of shares over the past 90 days.

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) shares dropped 9.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $31.41 and last traded at $31.8430. Approximately 3,881,230 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 6,316,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VIAV shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Viavi Solutions from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Viavi Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on Viavi Solutions from $26.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Viavi Solutions from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.88.

Viavi Solutions Trading Down 4.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business's fifty day moving average is $46.18 and its 200 day moving average is $38.01. The stock has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of -139.30 and a beta of 1.18.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $406.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $393.80 million. Viavi Solutions had a negative net margin of 4.03% and a positive return on equity of 16.80%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Viavi Solutions Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Viavi Solutions news, EVP Paul Mcnab sold 2,727 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 15,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $850,286.16. This represents a 14.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Doug Gilstrap sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $550,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 55,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,067,130. This represents a 15.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 450,369 shares of company stock valued at $23,789,119 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIAV. WPG Advisers LLC raised its position in Viavi Solutions by 96.2% during the first quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 775 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Viavi Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 83.2% during the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 852 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viavi Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viavi Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. 95.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viavi Solutions Company Profile

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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