LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Trading Down 4.8% – Here’s Why

LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) traded down 4.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $13.11 and last traded at $13.22. 773,788 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 2,902,654 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut LightPath Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on LightPath Technologies from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on LightPath Technologies from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.13.

LightPath Technologies Stock Up 4.6%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a current ratio of 3.86. The company has a market capitalization of $896.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.56 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 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 company had revenue of $19.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that LightPath Technologies, Inc. will post -0.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LightPath Technologies news, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 165,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 2,990,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,359,761.92. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,828,726 shares of company stock worth $22,237,106. 24.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LightPath Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LPTH. Portolan Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $12,939,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,445,000. Granahan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,085,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LightPath Technologies by 40.9% in 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 buying an additional 592,500 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,669,000. 56.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.