LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded LightPath Technologies from “sell” to “hold”, adding to a mixed but generally constructive analyst backdrop for the stock.
• The company recently reported Q4 revenue of $19.15 million, beating estimates, but posted an EPS loss of $0.07, wider than expected. Analysts currently expect LightPath to post -0.19 EPS for the full fiscal year.
• LightPath shares opened at $11.51 and have traded between $2.21 and $16.53 over the past 12 months; the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target price of $13.75.

LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

LPTH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on LightPath Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright increased their price target on LightPath Technologies from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $13.75.

LightPath Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPTH opened at $11.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 3.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. LightPath Technologies has a twelve month low of $2.21 and a twelve month high of $16.53. The stock's 50 day moving average is $12.07 and its 200-day moving average is $10.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $664.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.02 and a beta of 1.26.

LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.05). LightPath Technologies had a negative return on equity of 20.69% and a negative net margin of 37.38%.The firm had revenue of $19.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that LightPath Technologies will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 302,352 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.31, for a total transaction of $3,721,953.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,283,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,415,748.84. This trade represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,131,247 shares of company stock worth $26,122,799. Company insiders own 24.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPTH. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $82,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $84,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $88,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $90,000. Finally, Granite Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $106,000. 56.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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