New York, May 24, 2026, 09:01 EDT
- Viavi finished Friday at $49.51, rising 1.08% for the session but off around 3.8% for the week.
- Nasdaq trading stays paused through the weekend, with the U.S. market also closed Monday for Memorial Day.
- Viavi said in a May 21 filing it netted roughly $557.2 million from a common stock sale and aims to use $450 million of that to pay down a seven-year term loan.
Viavi Solutions Inc. is trading above the price set in its recent big stock sale as the shortened U.S. trading week begins, though shares fell last week with investors looking at debt reduction versus dilution for the network-testing company.
The stock finished Friday at $49.51, gaining 1.08% on the day. The week started at $49.75, down from last Friday’s $51.43 close, putting the shares off about 3.8% for the week. U.S. indexes ended the week up, with the S&P 500 logging its eighth weekly advance.
Viavi’s stock stopped trading after a fast rally, with the company resetting its balance sheet. Nasdaq markets stay closed until Tuesday for Memorial Day on May 25.
The company last week set the price for 11,111,111 shares at $45 apiece in a follow-on offering. It’s a sale of new stock by a public company. Underwriters later took up their full option and bought 1,666,666 extra shares, so net proceeds came to about $557.2 million.
Viavi said it will use the proceeds to pay down $450 million on its seven-year term loan. Any leftover cash is set for working capital or general corporate needs. The move gives a simpler balance sheet, but adds shares—so investors will see earnings spread over more stock.
Viavi’s latest stock sale comes after it posted a strong fiscal third quarter. The company reported $406.8 million in revenue for the quarter ended March 28, up 42.8% from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings per share rose 80% to 27 cents, excluding some costs. GAAP net income dropped 67.2% to $6.4 million.
Viavi CEO Oleg Khaykin said the quarter beat expectations, citing “strong growth” in data center, aerospace and defense. On the earnings call, Khaykin told analysts there was “strong demand across all data center segments,” a line that matters for the stock as it tracks AI infrastructure spending. Viavisolutions
Viavi is guiding for revenue between $427 million and $437 million this quarter, with adjusted EPS in a 29 to 31 cent range. That outlook looks set to steer trading next week, as the news flow stays light with the holidays, and investors focus on firms linked to AI data centers.
Competitive pressure is part of this shift. Viavi picked up Spirent’s high-speed ethernet, network security, and channel-emulation testing unit from Keysight Technologies in October. Keysight had to sell those assets due to a U.S. antitrust review after buying Spirent. Before that, the Justice Department said the two firms held 85% of the high-speed ethernet testing sector.
Needham & Company got more bullish on Viavi after April earnings, MarketBeat said. The broker upped its price target on Viavi to $68 from $53 and stuck with its buy rating.
Risk is that debt reduction might not cover dilution if demand slows down or Spirent’s assets don’t boost margins fast enough. Viavi’s GAAP profit dropped last quarter even though revenue jumped, and weaker data-center or aerospace orders could make the new share count stand out more to investors.
The focus this week isn’t just on one event but on how buyers act. If shares stay above the $45 offering price, that shows backers are comfortable helping cover the debt. A drop under $45 signals the market wants proof, not talk.
