Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $11.50 to $11.00. The stock had previously closed at $10.65, but opened at $8.58. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Viavi Solutions shares last traded at $9.00, with a volume of 1,347,555 shares.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Viavi Solutions from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $14.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Friday. Argus raised their price objective on Viavi Solutions from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (up from $12.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viavi Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viavi Solutions news, SVP James L. Veler, Jr. sold 13,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.86, for a total value of $149,944.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Luke M. Scrivanich sold 14,323 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.24, for a total transaction of $160,990.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,057.48. This trade represents a 20.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 37,164 shares of company stock worth $411,122. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viavi Solutions

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIAV. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,614,684 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $198,108,000 after acquiring an additional 4,085,648 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,524,395 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $106,297,000 after purchasing an additional 171,746 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Viavi Solutions by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,040,890 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $70,972,000 after purchasing an additional 112,978 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Viavi Solutions by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,398,610 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $64,626,000 after purchasing an additional 620,773 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Viavi Solutions by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,475,819 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,106,000 after purchasing an additional 435,265 shares in the last quarter. 95.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viavi Solutions Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.89 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 3.18.

Viavi Solutions Company 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.