Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) Shares Up 6.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Lumen Technologies' stock price increased by 6.7% on Wednesday, climbing to a high of $6.38 before closing at $6.01, despite a 23% decrease in trading volume compared to its average.
• Analysts have mixed views on Lumen Technologies, with Goldman Sachs rating it 'neutral' with a price target of $4.10 and Raymond James upgrading it to 'outperform' with a target of $5.00.
• Insider trading activity shows both the CEO and CFO buying significant shares, indicating confidence in the company, with insider ownership comprising 2.30% of total stock.

Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LUMN - Get Free Report) shares traded up 6.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $6.38 and last traded at $6.01. 9,605,895 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 12,427,822 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Lumen Technologies Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.94 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 59.98.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Christopher Stansbury purchased 42,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.29 per share, for a total transaction of $180,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 518,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,222,220. This trade represents a 8.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathleen E. Johnson purchased 135,870 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.69 per share, with a total value of $501,360.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,616,947 shares in the company, valued at $35,486,534.43. This trade represents a 1.43% 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 in the last quarter. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lumen Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lumen Technologies by 132.3% in the 2nd 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 during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in Lumen Technologies by 160.0% in the 2nd quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Lumen Technologies by 3,527.9% in the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,639 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 6,456 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Lumen Technologies by 3,825.7% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,498 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 7,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. purchased a new stake in Lumen Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.19% of the company's stock.

Lumen Technologies Company Profile

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.