LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Trading Down 9.1% – Here’s Why

LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) traded down 9.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $16.32 and last traded at $16.49. 2,044,168 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 3,041,505 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

LightPath Technologies Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.13. The company has a current ratio of 3.86, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $19.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 million. Research analysts expect that LightPath Technologies, Inc. will post -0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 381,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.18, for a total value of $4,640,628.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,075,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,459,918.86. This represents a 11.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,390,853 shares of company stock valued at $16,925,923. 24.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LPTH. Portolan Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,939,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,445,000. Granahan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in LightPath Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,085,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 592,500 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,669,000. 56.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LightPath Technologies Company Profile

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.