LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.52, but opened at $12.14. LightPath Technologies shares last traded at $11.80, with a volume of 466,661 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LPTH. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of LightPath Technologies from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded LightPath Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.12.

LightPath Technologies Price Performance

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 cap of $717.69 million, a P/E ratio of -22.86 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $14.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.66.

LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02). The business had revenue of $19.15 million during 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%. On average, analysts predict 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 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 value of $49,999,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,934,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,087,592. This represents a 54.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 3,864,452 shares of company stock valued at $53,576,437 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 24.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in LightPath Technologies by 707.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,565 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 8,380 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $108,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies in the third quarter worth $82,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies in the third quarter worth $84,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies in the first quarter worth $108,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.29% of the company’s stock.

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.