LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $18.26 and last traded at $17.61, with a volume of 4383735 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on LPTH shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on LightPath Technologies from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of LightPath Technologies from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen raised LightPath Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.13.

LightPath Technologies Trading Down 6.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 3.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of -33.96 and a beta of 1.26.

LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02). LightPath Technologies had a negative return on equity of 15.55% and a negative net margin of 37.38%.The business had revenue of $19.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LightPath Technologies, Inc. will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 165,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.16, for a total transaction of $2,006,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,990,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,359,761.92. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,390,853 shares of company stock worth $16,925,923 in the last three months. Company insiders own 24.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $12,939,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,445,000. Granahan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,085,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. raised its position in LightPath Technologies by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 2,040,110 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,033,000 after purchasing an additional 592,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,669,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.29% of the company’s stock.

About LightPath Technologies

LightPath Technologies, Inc designs, manufactures and distributes precision optical components and assemblies for a variety of commercial, industrial, defense and scientific applications. The company’s portfolio includes molded glass aspheric lenses, precision glass optics, infrared lenses and assemblies, diamond-turned optics and molded polymer optics. These components are engineered to support imaging, illumination, laser delivery, detection and sensing systems across visible, ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths.

Among its core offerings, LightPath develops infrared optical solutions using materials such as germanium, zinc selenide and chalcogenide glasses for thermal imaging, night-vision devices and spectroscopy.