5 Best Optical Networking Stocks to Buy According to Analysts

2. VIAVI Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV)

Stock Upside: 31.29%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 28

VIAVI Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) is one of the best optical networking stocks to buy according to analysts. On May 19, VIAVI Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) priced a public offering of about 11.1 million shares of common stock at $45 per share. The offering closed just two days later on May 21, and generated approximately $500 million in net proceeds after underwriters exercised their 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,666,666 shares at the same offering price.

VIAVI said it plans to use most of the proceeds to repay the $450 million remaining principal balance on its Term Loan B. It will allocate the surplus to general working capital needs.

Separately, on May 5, VIAVI launched the CyberFlood CF1000, a native 400G security and application performance test appliance. VIAVI said it designed the appliance to help network equipment vendors, hyperscale data center operators, and service providers validate the reliability and security of complex, high-speed AI infrastructure before it goes live.

VIAVI stated that this product matters because, as data centers are rebuilt to support AI workloads, the traffic they carry is not only far faster and denser than before, but also far more encrypted and dynamic. However, traditional test systems were not built for this environment and leave critical blind spots in the validation process. As such, the company positions the CF1000 as the tool to close those gaps.

VIAVI Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) is an optical networking test, monitoring, and assurance company. It provides critical equipment for validating and maintaining fiber-optic communication networks. The company develops testing instruments, network performance monitoring systems, and assurance software that telecom operators, data center providers, and equipment manufacturers use to ensure the reliability and performance of high-speed optical networks.