Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) Short Interest Update

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,990,000 shares, a decrease of 16.3% from the February 28th total of 5,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Paul Mcnab sold 9,034 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.09, for a total transaction of $100,187.06. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,014.75. The trade was a 18.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $149,944.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 67,164 shares of company stock valued at $711,422. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viavi Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Viavi Solutions by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 3,212 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 6,171 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Viavi Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $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 worth $84,000 after buying an additional 7,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 9,389 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VIAV shares. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Viavi Solutions from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. B. Riley boosted their price target on Viavi Solutions from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Viavi Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised 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, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.72.

Viavi Solutions Stock Performance

VIAV opened at $11.21 on Wednesday. Viavi Solutions has a twelve month low of $6.60 and a twelve month high of $12.91. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of -62.27 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.39 and its 200-day moving average is $10.34. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

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.