Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $21.03, but opened at $23.01. Viavi Solutions shares last traded at $23.3350, with a volume of 6,356,486 shares changing hands.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $369.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.25 million. Viavi Solutions had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 1.33%.The company’s revenue was up 36.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. Viavi Solutions has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.220-4.000 EPS.

Viavi Solutions News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Viavi Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company raised its price target to $28 and reiterated a Buy rating, implying roughly a one‑third upside from the current share level — a bullish signal that can attract momentum buyers and institutional interest. Needham PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Viavi reported Q2 results that beat expectations: $0.22 EPS vs. $0.19 consensus and revenue of $369.3M (vs. ~$365M est.), with revenue up ~36% year‑over‑year — proof of revenue momentum that supports valuation re‑rating. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised Q3 fiscal guidance well above consensus on both revenue ($386M–$400M vs. ~$354.9M consensus) and on EPS, signaling continued top‑line strength and improved leverage — a primary near‑term catalyst for the stock. Guidance & Slides
• Positive Sentiment: Inertial Labs (a Viavi company) launched the IRINS LEO‑aided inertial navigation system — a defense/positioning product that expands Viavi’s addressable markets in resilient PNT (positioning, navigation, timing) applications and could drive higher‑margin, recurring sales. IRINS Product Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Other analysts also bumped targets/ratings (B. Riley raised its target to $22 and additional commentary highlighted a shifting growth story), reinforcing the upgrade momentum from the sell side. Analyst Target Updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors can review the full Q2 earnings call transcript and company filings/slide deck for detail on cadence, margin assumptions and backlog to size sustainability of the beat and guidance. Earnings Call Transcript

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VIAV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Viavi Solutions from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Viavi Solutions in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Viavi Solutions from $16.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kevin Christopher Siebert sold 24,225 shares of Viavi Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.26, for a total value of $442,348.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 49,225 shares in the company, valued at $898,848.50. This trade represents a 32.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Oleg Khaykin sold 68,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.77, for a total transaction of $1,222,753.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,956,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,761,585.15. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 606,226 shares of company stock valued at $10,714,820 in the last ninety days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIAV. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Viavi Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,764,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in Viavi Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $3,855,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Viavi Solutions by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 974,906 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,372,000 after purchasing an additional 221,949 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new position in shares of Viavi Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,442,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Viavi Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,096,000. 95.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viavi Solutions Stock Up 15.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 344.77 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.52.

About Viavi Solutions

Viavi Solutions Inc is a provider of network test, monitoring and assurance solutions for communications service providers, cable operators, enterprises and government agencies. The company offers an extensive portfolio of fiber optic and copper cable test and measurement instruments, wireless network testing equipment and network performance monitoring software. Its products are designed to support the deployment, maintenance and optimization of high-speed broadband, 5G wireless, data center and enterprise networks.

Viavi’s product offerings are organized into two primary segments: Network & Service Enablement and Optical Security & Performance.