Viavi Solutions Inc. $VIAV Shares Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) by 264.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,405 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,909 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Viavi Solutions were worth $3,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viavi Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 413.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 811 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Viavi Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Viavi Solutions by 83.2% in the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 852 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Viavi Solutions by 309.4% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.54% of the company’s stock.

Viavi Solutions Price Performance

Viavi Solutions stock opened at $32.54 on Friday. Viavi Solutions Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.51 and a 52-week high of $60.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.40 and a 200-day moving average of $38.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 135.59, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. Viavi Solutions had a net margin of 3.97% and a return on equity of 25.36%. The business had revenue of $469.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Viavi Solutions Inc. will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laura A. Black sold 71,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.12, for a total value of $3,274,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 71,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,297,441.64. This trade represents a 49.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Luke M. Scrivanich sold 35,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total value of $1,299,783.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 39,598 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,435,031.52. The trade was a 47.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 198,099 shares of company stock worth $7,916,628 over the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on VIAV. Weiss Ratings raised Viavi Solutions from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Viavi Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on Viavi Solutions from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 price objective on Viavi Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.83.

About Viavi Solutions

Viavi Solutions Inc. develops testing, monitoring and assurance solutions for communications networks. Its products and software help service providers, equipment makers and enterprises build, maintain and troubleshoot fiber-optic, broadband, wireless and other network infrastructure, including technologies used in 5G and data centers. The company also makes optical technologies and security products, including features used to authenticate banknotes, identity documents and branded goods. These offerings support applications in areas such as anti-counterfeiting, document security and optical coatings.