Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) Shares Bought by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) by 423.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,435,678 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,779,615 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 1.55% of Viavi Solutions worth $34,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 3,212 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 804.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,938 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 6,171 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viavi Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 836.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 8,323 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 7,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in Viavi Solutions by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 9,389 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.54% of the company’s stock.

Viavi Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ VIAV opened at $9.26 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.53. Viavi Solutions Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.60 and a 52 week high of $12.91. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.44 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VIAV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price (up previously from $12.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Viavi Solutions from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Viavi Solutions from $11.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.69.

Insider Transactions at Viavi Solutions

In related news, Director Richard Belluzzo sold 8,385 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.92, for a total transaction of $74,794.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 259,081 shares in the company, valued at $2,311,002.52. The trade was a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP James L. Veler, Jr. sold 13,807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.86, for a total transaction of $149,944.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,549 shares of company stock worth $485,916. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.