Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) Trading 7.6% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Lumen Technologies' shares increased by 7.6% during trading on Wednesday, rising from a previous close of $5.54 to $5.96, although trading volume was significantly lower than average.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for the company, with Goldman Sachs setting a "neutral" rating and a target price of $4.10, while Wall Street Zen upgraded it to "hold" and Raymond James raised its target price from $4.50 to $5.00.
• Despite reporting earnings of ($0.03) per share, which beat estimates, Lumen Technologies experienced a year-over-year revenue decline of 5.4%.

Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LUMN - Get Free Report) shares traded up 7.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $5.68 and last traded at $5.96. 2,284,903 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 12,594,936 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LUMN. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Lumen Technologies in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $4.10 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lumen Technologies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Lumen Technologies from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Lumen Technologies to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $5.14.

Lumen Technologies Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.77 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 59.98, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 2.13.

Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The technology company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.21. Lumen Technologies had a negative net margin of 9.19% and a negative return on equity of 158.40%. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.13) EPS. Lumen Technologies's revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lumen Technologies, Inc. will post -0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kathleen E. Johnson acquired 135,870 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.69 per share, for a total transaction of $501,360.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,616,947 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,486,534.43. The trade was a 1.43% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Christopher Stansbury acquired 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.44 per share, with a total value of $177,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 535,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,375,400. The trade was a 8.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 217,870 shares of company stock valued at $859,140 over the last quarter. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lumen Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Lumen Technologies by 132.3% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,954 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391 shares in the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its position in Lumen Technologies by 160.0% during the second quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Lumen Technologies by 3,527.9% during the second quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,639 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 6,456 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Lumen Technologies by 3,825.7% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,498 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 7,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. acquired a new position in Lumen Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 66.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lumen Technologies

Lumen Technologies, Inc, a facilities-based technology and communications company, provides various integrated products and services to business and residential customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Business and Mass Markets. It offers dark fiber, edge cloud services, internet protocol, managed security, software-defined wide area networks, secure access service edge, unified communications and collaboration, and optical wavelengths services; ethernet and VPN data networks services; and legacy services to manage cash flow, including time division multiplexing voice, private line, and other legacy services, as well as sells communication equipment, and IT solutions.

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