LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• LightPath Technologies shares gapped down before Thursday’s trading, opening at $10.82 after closing at $11.42 and later trading near $10.71, a decline of about 7.2%.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive, with Canaccord Genuity raising its price target to $16.50 and the overall consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy with an average target of $14.12.
• The company’s latest earnings matched EPS expectations and beat on revenue, but insiders have sold heavily in recent months, including a large director sale worth nearly $50 million.

Shares of LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $11.42, but opened at $10.82. LightPath Technologies shares last traded at $10.71, with a volume of 355,966 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LPTH shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on LightPath Technologies from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut LightPath Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $14.12.

LightPath Technologies Stock Down 7.2%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.23 and a 200 day moving average of $12.68. The company has a quick ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 3.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $665.57 million, a P/E ratio of -21.20 and a beta of 1.34.

LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $19.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 million. LightPath Technologies had a negative return on equity of 15.55% and a negative net margin of 37.38%. On average, equities research analysts predict that LightPath Technologies, Inc. will post -0.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at LightPath Technologies

In other LightPath Technologies news, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 3,571,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 3,864,452 shares of company stock worth $53,576,437 in the last ninety days. 24.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in LightPath Technologies by 707.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,565 shares of the technology company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 8,380 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in LightPath Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $108,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.