LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Shares Down 15.6% After Insider Selling

Shares of LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) fell 15.6% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $14.79 and last traded at $14.88. 3,413,455 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 3,138,668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.62.

Specifically, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 3,571,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $49,999,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,934,828 shares in the company, valued at $41,087,592. This trade represents a 54.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LPTH. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of LightPath Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of LightPath Technologies from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.13.

LightPath Technologies Stock Down 14.0%

The company has a market cap of $951.27 million, a P/E ratio of -30.30 and a beta of 1.33. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $13.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.41.

LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.02). The company had revenue of $19.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 million. LightPath Technologies had a negative net margin of 37.38% and a negative return on equity of 15.55%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LightPath Technologies, Inc. will post -0.11 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of LightPath Technologies by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 57,684 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 3,276 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of LightPath Technologies by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,623 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 5,223 shares during the period. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. raised its position in shares of LightPath Technologies by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 63,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 6,691 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in shares of LightPath Technologies by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 28,400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 8,300 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of LightPath Technologies by 707.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,565 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 8,380 shares during the period. 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.