Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is bullish: Twenty-two brokerages give Lumentum a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with 15 buy ratings, one strong buy, five holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is approximately $1,053.83.
• Strong results reflect AI infrastructure demand: Quarterly revenue rose 109.3% year over year to about $1.01 billion, while adjusted EPS of $3.23 exceeded estimates of $2.97. The company guided to fiscal Q1 2027 EPS of $4.05–$4.35 as demand for high-speed optical networking remains strong.
• Risks include competition and insider selling: Competitors are expanding 800G and 1.6T optical capacity, while insiders have sold approximately $56.7 million of stock over the past 90 days, largely through pre-arranged trading plans.

Shares of Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,053.8261.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LITE shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Lumentum from $800.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Lumentum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,036.00 target price on shares of Lumentum in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Northland Securities increased their price target on shares of Lumentum from $1,000.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Lumentum in a report on Friday, August 21st.

More Lumentum News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lumentum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI data-center demand remains the main catalyst. Lumentum is benefiting from the shift from copper to fiber optics, record 800G transceiver shipments and tight supply of EML lasers. Analysts see significant growth potential as customers increase spending on high-speed optical infrastructure, particularly from 2027 onward. Lumentum: Why 2027 Will Be a Game Changer
• Positive Sentiment: Recent financial results and guidance were strong. Lumentum’s latest quarterly revenue reached approximately $1.01 billion, while adjusted EPS of $3.23 exceeded the $2.97 consensus estimate. Revenue more than doubled year over year, and first-quarter fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $4.05 to $4.35 supports expectations for continued earnings momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional interest remains supportive. LITE has been highlighted as an AI infrastructure “buy zone” stock, and the analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target above the latest reported trading level. Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 94% of the shares. Top Funds Bet Billions As This AI Stock Lights Up a Buy Zone
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive risks are increasing. Applied Optoelectronics is expanding 800G and 1.6T optical capacity as AI networking demand rises, highlighting the intensifying competition Lumentum faces in a rapidly growing market. AAOI's Optical Networking Demand Rise
• Negative Sentiment: Repeated insider selling may be weighing on sentiment. Insider Yuen Wupen sold 500 shares for approximately $481,000 on September 10 and another 500 shares for about $448,000 on September 8. The trades were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and represent only 0.43% of the insider’s holdings per transaction, limiting their significance but still signaling profit-taking at elevated prices. Lumentum Insider Sale

Insider Transactions at Lumentum

In other news, SVP Jae Kim sold 12,000 shares of Lumentum stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.58, for a total value of $10,230,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,230,934.32. This trade represents a 24.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Yuen Wupen sold 1,500 shares of Lumentum stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $827.82, for a total value of $1,241,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 100,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $83,141,273.88. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 66,147 shares of company stock valued at $56,741,571 over the last 90 days. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lumentum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Lumentum by 112,343.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 92,237,160 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $79,145,018,000 after purchasing an additional 92,155,130 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Lumentum in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,621,396,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Lumentum by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,854,801 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $683,661,000 after buying an additional 291,591 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lumentum by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,412,213 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $521,563,000 after buying an additional 123,265 shares during the period. Finally, Situational Awareness LP boosted its stake in Lumentum by 210.9% in the fourth quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 1,298,400 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $478,577,000 after acquiring an additional 880,800 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lumentum Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of LITE opened at $927.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $83.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.28 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $829.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $827.28. Lumentum has a 52-week low of $144.52 and a 52-week high of $1,085.68.

Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The technology company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.26. Lumentum had a positive return on equity of 26.34% and a negative net margin of 230.15%.The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $987.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 109.3% on a year-over-year basis. Lumentum has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.050-4.350 EPS. Analysts predict that Lumentum will post 19.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lumentum Company Profile

Lumentum Holdings Inc NASDAQ: LITE designs and manufactures optical and photonic products used to transmit, process and control light. Its portfolio includes optical components, modules, subsystems, lasers and photonic integrated circuits that support communications networks, data centers, cloud infrastructure and industrial applications.

The company also supplies technologies for consumer electronics and 3D sensing, including laser-based products used in applications such as depth sensing and facial recognition.

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