LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $16.65 and last traded at $16.36, with a volume of 2105002 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut LightPath Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on LightPath Technologies from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target 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, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.13.

LightPath Technologies Trading Up 18.7%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.80. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.90 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) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $19.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 million. LightPath Technologies had a negative return on equity of 15.55% and a negative net margin of 37.38%. On average, analysts predict that LightPath Technologies, Inc. will post -0.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at LightPath Technologies

In other LightPath Technologies news, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 381,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.18, for a total transaction of $4,640,628.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,075,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,459,918.86. This trade represents a 11.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,828,726 shares of company stock worth $22,237,106. Company insiders own 24.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in LightPath Technologies by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 57,684 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 3,276 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in LightPath Technologies by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,623 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 5,223 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LightPath Technologies by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 63,600 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 6,691 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its stake in shares of LightPath Technologies by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 28,400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 8,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of LightPath Technologies by 707.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,565 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 8,380 shares in the last quarter. 56.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.