Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Upgraded at Needham & Company LLC

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) was upgraded by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $15.00 price objective on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 24.58% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Viavi Solutions from $8.25 to $10.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $9.50 price objective (up previously from $8.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Friday. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $10.60 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Viavi Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viavi Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.88.

Viavi Solutions Stock Up 20.5 %

Viavi Solutions stock opened at $12.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 3.31 and a current ratio of 3.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of -70.82 and a beta of 0.91. Viavi Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $6.60 and a fifty-two week high of $12.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.26.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.06. The company had revenue of $238.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.09 million. Viavi Solutions had a positive return on equity of 2.22% and a negative net margin of 3.78%. Viavi Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.05 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Viavi Solutions will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Masood Jabbar sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total transaction of $300,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 180,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,133.33. This represents a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Luke M. Scrivanich sold 2,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.43, for a total transaction of $29,224.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 54,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $568,612.31. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,802 shares of company stock worth $481,625 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Viavi Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 419.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,229 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 5,838 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viavi Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $75,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Viavi Solutions by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,388 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 3,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. purchased a new stake in Viavi Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $95,000. 95.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.