Needham & Company LLC Upgrades Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) to "Buy"

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $15.00 price target on the communications equipment provider's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Viavi Solutions from $8.25 to $10.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $9.50 price objective (up from $8.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 target price (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Viavi Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $10.60 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Viavi Solutions has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.88.

Viavi Solutions Trading Up 20.5 %

VIAV traded up $2.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.04. 17,597,862 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,297,700. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $10.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.26. Viavi Solutions has a 1-year low of $6.60 and a 1-year high of $12.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.82 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 3.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.06. The business had revenue of $238.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $240.09 million. Viavi Solutions had a positive return on equity of 2.22% and a negative net margin of 3.78%. The firm's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Viavi Solutions will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Viavi Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIAV. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Viavi Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP grew 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 during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viavi Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $75,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viavi Solutions in the second quarter valued at $76,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,388 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 3,252 shares during the last quarter. 95.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.