Shares of Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV) experienced a significant rise of 6.8% during trading on October 30, 2023, following an upgrade from B. Riley, which raised its price target for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00. The firm currently maintains a buy rating on the stock, which peaked at $20.06 before closing at the same price.
During the mid-day trading session, approximately 2,263,545 shares changed hands, marking a 37% decline from the average daily volume of 3,601,513 shares. The stock had closed at $18.79 on the previous trading day.
Several other analysts have also recently evaluated Viavi Solutions. On December 29, 2023, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on the shares. In contrast, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price from $16.00 to $20.00, maintaining a buy rating as of October 30, 2023. Additionally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective from $15.00 to $19.00 while also issuing a buy rating. UBS Group adjusted their target price from $12.00 to $17.00, giving the stock a neutral rating.
Analysts have generally shown a positive outlook regarding Viavi Solutions, with seven research analysts rating the stock as a buy, two as hold, and one as sell. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company holds a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a price target averaging $17.89.
Institutional Investments and Stock Performance
Recent trading activity has also been influenced by institutional investors. Notable transactions include Penserra Capital Management LLC, which acquired a new stake valued at approximately $7.76 million during the second quarter, and Oak Ridge Investments LLC, which purchased a stake worth about $3.86 million in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings by 29.5%, now owning 974,906 shares valued at $12.37 million after acquiring an additional 221,949 shares.
Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds currently own 95.54% of Viavi Solutions stock, reflecting strong institutional confidence in the company.
The stock’s performance metrics include a 50-day simple moving average of $17.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.33. Viavi Solutions has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 286.67, and a beta of 0.94. The company’s debt-to-equity ratio stands at 0.88, with a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.99.
Financial Results and Future Outlook
Viavi Solutions recently announced its quarterly earnings results on October 29, 2023, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.15, exceeding analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. The company achieved a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 1.33%. Revenue for the quarter reached $299.10 million, surpassing the consensus estimate of $294.35 million and representing a year-over-year increase of 25.6%.
Looking ahead, Viavi Solutions has projected its EPS guidance for the second quarter of 2026 to be between $0.180 and $0.200. Analysts collectively forecast that Viavi Solutions will report an EPS of $0.26 for the current fiscal year.
Founded as a provider of network test, monitoring, and assurance solutions, Viavi Solutions serves a diverse clientele, including communications service providers, cable operators, enterprises, and government agencies. The company offers a comprehensive range of testing and measurement instruments, as well as network performance monitoring software, primarily organized into two segments: Network & Service Enablement and Optical Security & Performance.
