JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Stake in Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Free Report) by 39.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 545,446 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 153,745 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.25% of Viavi Solutions worth $4,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Viavi Solutions during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 419.7% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Viavi Solutions during the second quarter valued at $76,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 53.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,388 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 3,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. purchased a new position in Viavi Solutions during the third quarter valued at $95,000. 95.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viavi Solutions Trading Up 1.8 %

VIAV stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.22. 1,147,746 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,377,386. The company has a quick ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 3.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -60.11 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.03. Viavi Solutions Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.60 and a 12-month high of $11.49.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 negative net margin of 3.78% and a positive return on equity of 2.22%. Viavi Solutions's revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Viavi Solutions Inc. will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VIAV. Northland Securities increased their target price on shares of Viavi Solutions from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viavi Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $10.60 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $9.50 target price (up from $8.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions from $10.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viavi Solutions currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.44.

Viavi Solutions Profile

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.