Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $10.81, but opened at $11.06. Viavi Solutions shares last traded at $10.99, with a volume of 68,053 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VIAV shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions from $10.60 to $11.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised their target price on shares of Viavi Solutions from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Viavi Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viavi Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.72.

Viavi Solutions Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of -60.77 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Paul Mcnab sold 9,034 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.09, for a total value of $100,187.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,775 shares in the company, valued at $430,014.75. This represents a 18.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Luke M. Scrivanich sold 2,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.43, for a total transaction of $29,224.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 54,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $568,612.31. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,159 shares of company stock valued at $590,702. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Viavi Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $2,059,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Viavi Solutions by 117.5% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 59,492 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 32,145 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Viavi Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $188,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Viavi Solutions by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 509,746 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $5,148,000 after purchasing an additional 107,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Viavi Solutions by 423.7% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,435,678 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $34,700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,779,615 shares during the last quarter. 95.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.