Short Interest in Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) Grows By 38.9%

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,780,000 shares, a growth of 38.9% from the January 31st total of 4,160,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Insider Activity at Viavi Solutions

In other news, Director Masood Jabbar sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total transaction of $300,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 180,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,805,133.33. This represents a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Luke M. Scrivanich sold 2,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.43, for a total transaction of $29,224.86. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viavi Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Viavi Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 804.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,938 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 6,171 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viavi Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Viavi Solutions by 836.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 8,323 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 7,434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.54% of the company’s stock.

Viavi Solutions Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VIAV opened at $10.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 3.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $10.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of -60.77 and a beta of 0.92. Viavi Solutions has a one year low of $6.60 and a one year high of $12.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Viavi Solutions from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Viavi Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their target price 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Viavi Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.33.

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.