It took a while to set up, but the recent rewiring at Chatsworth communications equipment provider MRV Communications Inc. seems to be connecting.

The network infrastructure and services company has put increased focus on its hardware business, most recently appointing David Stehlin, who had headed a division that sells routers, switches and servers to telecom customers, as its new chief executive.

The Feb. 1 elevation of Stehlin is the latest in a series of shakeups at the company in the past year, and investors seem to have taken note.

One, who asked not to be named, said Stehlin’s appointment shows the company is getting back to business after dealing with the numerous distractions.

For the week ended Feb. 6, shares were up 16 percent to $11, making MRV the biggest gainer on the LABJ Stock Index. (See page 32.) However, the stock is traded on the over-the-counter market.

The appointment of Stehlin, the company’s fifth chief executive since 2010, caps more than two years of discord at the company. Just two years ago, the company was going haywire as institutional shareholders threatened a proxy fight and demanded that MRV divest assets and return capital to shareholders.

The latest upheaval was followed by the departure of the company’s then-chief executive, Dilip Singh, and four board members.

Singh was followed by Barry Gorsum, who took over in February 2012.

Gorsum oversaw the divestiture of some of MRV’s lower-performing consulting, installation and maintenance services units.

MRV also sold a Swiss subsidiary in late 2011 for $24.6 million, and under Gorsum’s watch last summer, put French and Italian subsidiaries on the market.

The company reported a fourth consecutive quarter of losses in November, losing $1.1 million on revenue of $51.6 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30. MRV’s share price hovered around 50 cents in December.

In an effort to boost shareholder value, the company announced a special 7 cent dividend in December, along with a plan to repurchase up to $10 million of stock, and capped it off with a 1-for-20 reverse stock split.

Finally, the company last month announced a preliminary settlement of its 2008 class-action lawsuit with shareholders who alleged faulty financial reporting from 2003 through 2008. The allegations at the time caused MRV’s stock to plummet, and the company was delisted from the Nasdaq in 2009.