Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Stock Price Down 7.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV)’s share price dropped 7.9% during mid-day trading on Monday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $41.91 and last traded at $41.8570. 2,613,994 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 6,011,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.46.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VIAV. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Viavi Solutions from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 price target on Viavi Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Viavi Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Viavi Solutions from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Luke Scrivanich sold 35,866 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $1,299,783.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 39,598 shares in the company, valued at $1,435,031.52. This trade represents a 47.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ilan Daskal sold 56,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 10,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $367,690.28. The trade was a 84.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 199,694 shares of company stock valued at $7,976,233 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viavi Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 96.2% during the first quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 775 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Viavi Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Viavi Solutions by 83.2% in the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 852 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 309.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.54% of the company’s stock.

Viavi Solutions Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of -270.16 and a beta of 1.21.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $443.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $432.62 million. Viavi Solutions had a positive return on equity of 19.60% and a negative net margin of 2.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 52.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. Viavi Solutions has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.400-0.420 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Viavi Solutions Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viavi Solutions Company Profile

Viavi Solutions Inc (NASDAQ: VIAV) develops test, measurement, and assurance technologies for communications networks, optical systems, and related industrial applications. Its solutions are used by network equipment manufacturers, communications service providers, contractors, and government organizations to install, validate, monitor, and maintain wired and wireless networks.

The company’s offerings include instruments and software for fiber-optic testing, network performance monitoring, service activation, troubleshooting, and assurance.