LG Display (NYSE:LPL) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

LG Display Co., Ltd. (NYSE:LPL) gapped up prior to trading on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $2.59, but opened at $2.70. LG Display shares last traded at $2.6650, with a volume of 388,809 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LPL. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of LG Display from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research upgraded LG Display from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

LG Display Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.97 and a beta of 1.73.

LG Display (NYSE:LPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. LG Display had a negative net margin of 5.26% and a negative return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts expect that LG Display Co., Ltd. will post -0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of LG Display

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPL. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in LG Display by 112.6% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 504,582 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 267,189 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of LG Display during the 2nd quarter worth $647,000. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in LG Display by 292.2% in the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 89,635 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 66,781 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in LG Display by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,580 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 2,308 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in LG Display by 4.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 87,102 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 3,808 shares during the last quarter.

About LG Display

LG Display Co, Ltd. is a South Korean manufacturer of display panels and related display technologies. The company develops and produces OLED and LCD panels used in televisions, monitors, notebook computers, tablets, smartphones, automotive displays and other smart devices.

Its product portfolio includes large OLED panels for premium televisions, OLED and LCD panels for information technology products, automotive display solutions and specialized displays for commercial and industrial applications.