Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $10.60 to $11.50. The stock had previously closed at $9.99, but opened at $12.12. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Viavi Solutions shares last traded at $12.50, with a volume of 3,303,417 shares changing hands.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Viavi Solutions from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions from $8.25 to $10.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viavi Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. B. Riley boosted their target price on Viavi Solutions from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Viavi Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.88.

Insider Activity at Viavi Solutions

In other Viavi Solutions news, SVP Luke M. Scrivanich sold 2,802 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 54,517 shares in the company, valued at $568,612.31. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Masood Jabbar sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.14, for a total transaction of $152,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 225,333 shares in the company, valued at $2,284,876.62. This trade represents a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,802 shares of company stock worth $481,625. Insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIAV. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Viavi Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 419.7% in 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 during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viavi Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $75,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Viavi Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth $76,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 53.0% during the third 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.54% of the company's stock.

Viavi Solutions Trading Up 20.5 %

The company's fifty day moving average is $10.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.26. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.82 and a beta of 0.91.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. The business had revenue of $238.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $240.09 million. Viavi Solutions had a negative net margin of 3.78% and a positive return on equity of 2.22%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.05 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Viavi Solutions Inc. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.