Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC raised Lumentum's price target from $135.00 to $145.00, suggesting a potential upside of 21.18% from the current price.
• Lumentum reported a 55.9% revenue increase year-over-year, posting quarterly earnings of $0.88 EPS, exceeding expectations of $0.79 EPS.
• Most analysts rate the company's stock as a buy, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.67.

Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $145.00 target price on the technology company's stock, up from their prior target price of $135.00. Needham & Company LLC's price target would indicate a potential upside of 27.24% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Lumentum in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Lumentum from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Lumentum in a research note on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Bank of America upgraded shares of Lumentum from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $78.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lumentum from $100.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lumentum currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.47.

Lumentum Trading Down 0.6%

Lumentum stock traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $113.95. 338,773 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,569,021. The company has a quick ratio of 3.53, a current ratio of 4.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. Lumentum has a 12 month low of $45.65 and a 12 month high of $129.98. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $97.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 496.24 and a beta of 1.33.

Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The technology company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $480.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $465.27 million. Lumentum had a net margin of 1.57% and a negative return on equity of 3.02%. The company's revenue was up 55.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. Analysts forecast that Lumentum will post 0.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Wajid Ali sold 2,222 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.58, for a total transaction of $185,714.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 47,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,966,706.80. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Yuen Wupen sold 265 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.92, for a total transaction of $26,478.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 79,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,970,918.16. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,000 shares of company stock worth $7,260,909 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of Lumentum during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Lumentum by 164.4% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 476 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Lumentum by 103.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lumentum by 2,235.3% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Lumentum in the second quarter worth $38,000. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Lumentum

Lumentum Holdings Inc manufactures and sells optical and photonic products in the Americas, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through two segments: Optical Communications (OpComms) and Commercial Lasers (Lasers). The OpComms segment offers components, modules, and subsystems that enable the transmission and transport of video, audio, and data over high-capacity fiber optic cables.