Wall Street Zen Upgrades Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) to Strong-Buy

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 target price on Viavi Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on shares of Viavi Solutions from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Viavi Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Viavi Solutions from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viavi Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.83.

Viavi Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:VIAV opened at $28.47 on Friday. Viavi Solutions has a 1 year low of $15.51 and a 1 year high of $60.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.63 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.64.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $469.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.06 million. Viavi Solutions had a return on equity of 25.36% and a net margin of 3.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Viavi Solutions will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viavi Solutions

In related news, EVP Ilan Daskal sold 56,290 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.29, for a total transaction of $2,042,764.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $367,690.28. This trade represents a 84.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura A. Black sold 71,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.12, for a total value of $3,274,520.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 71,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,297,441.64. The trade was a 49.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 198,099 shares of company stock valued at $7,916,628. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Viavi Solutions during the second quarter worth $1,228,529,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Viavi Solutions by 1,402.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,639,752 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $236,418,000 after acquiring an additional 5,264,496 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Viavi Solutions during the second quarter worth $134,922,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Viavi Solutions in the first quarter valued at $75,294,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Viavi Solutions in the second quarter valued at $87,914,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.54% of the company’s stock.

More Viavi Solutions News

Here are the key news stories impacting Viavi Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viavi reported adjusted earnings of $0.47 per share, beating estimates of about $0.40–$0.41 and rising from $0.15 a year earlier; revenue also topped expectations. The company cited strength in data-center and aerospace/defense demand, and expects sequential revenue growth through fiscal 2027, with semiconductor testing adding to its opportunities. Article: VIAV Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates on Data Center, A&D Strength
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a $500 million share-buyback plan, which could support per-share earnings and signal confidence in its prospects. Article: Viavi announces a $500 million equity buyback
• Neutral Sentiment: Needham cut its price target from $60 to $53 but retained a Buy rating. The lower target is a caution, though the analyst remains constructive. Article: Needham analyst recommendation
• Negative Sentiment: UBS lowered its target from $44 to $33 and moved to Neutral. Although the revised target is still above the quoted $28.47 share price, the cut and less favorable rating could weigh on sentiment. Article: UBS analyst recommendation

About Viavi Solutions

Viavi Solutions Inc develops testing, monitoring and assurance solutions for communications networks. Its products and software help service providers, equipment makers and enterprises build, maintain and troubleshoot fiber-optic, broadband, wireless and other network infrastructure, including technologies used in 5G and data centers.

The company also makes optical technologies and security products, including features used to authenticate banknotes, identity documents and branded goods.