Wall Street Zen Upgrades Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Lumen Technologies from “sell” to “hold,” but analyst sentiment remains cautious: the consensus rating is “Reduce” with an $8.11 price target.
• Lumen beat quarterly expectations, reporting a $0.07 per-share loss versus the estimated $0.13 loss and $2.81 billion in revenue versus $2.74 billion expected. However, revenue fell 9.3% year over year, highlighting continued weakness in legacy businesses.
• CEO Kathleen Johnson bought 100,000 shares for approximately $613,000, while several institutional investors increased their positions. The stock was trading at $6.27, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Sunday.

LUMN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Lumen Technologies from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lumen Technologies from $8.50 to $7.25 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lumen Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lumen Technologies from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lumen Technologies from $9.00 to $7.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $8.11.

Lumen Technologies Trading Up 6.2%

NYSE LUMN opened at $6.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.14 and a beta of 1.78. The business's 50 day moving average is $7.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.83. Lumen Technologies has a 12-month low of $3.69 and a 12-month high of $11.95.

Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Lumen Technologies will post -0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathleen E. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of Lumen Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.13 per share, with a total value of $613,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $613,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Lumen Technologies by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 28,326 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11,909 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lumen Technologies by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 142,261,845 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,092,571,000 after buying an additional 4,796,141 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Lumen Technologies by 8.7% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,819,389 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $13,973,000 after purchasing an additional 146,023 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Lumen Technologies by 85.3% during the 2nd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 116,479 shares of the technology company's stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 53,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Requisite Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lumen Technologies during the second quarter worth about $117,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.19% of the company's stock.

Key Lumen Technologies News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lumen Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Kathleen Johnson purchased 100,000 LUMN shares for approximately $613,000 at an average price of $6.13. The sizable open-market purchase signals management confidence in Lumen’s turnaround and better aligns the CEO’s interests with shareholders. Insider Buying: Lumen Technologies CEO Acquires Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Lumen’s second-quarter loss of $0.07 per share was narrower than the $0.13 analyst consensus, while revenue of $2.81 billion exceeded expectations of $2.74 billion. The earnings beat provides evidence that cost controls and the company’s transformation may be progressing. What Changed for Lumen After Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Lumen is extending its multi-cloud strategy through an Amdocs agreement to modernize enterprise service orchestration and order management on AWS. The initiative could improve service delivery and support growth in cloud- and AI-related offerings. Lumen Extends Multi-Cloud Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains mixed: several firms maintain Hold or Neutral ratings, while the broader consensus is Reduce. This suggests the earnings beat and insider purchase have not yet resolved uncertainty surrounding Lumen’s long-term turnaround. Analysts Conflicted on Communication Services Names
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined 9.3% year over year to $2.81 billion, underscoring continued weakness in Lumen’s legacy businesses. Investors remain concerned that growth in strategic services may not yet be sufficient to offset those declines.
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs lowered its LUMN price target from $8.50 to $7.25, while Wells Fargo issued a pessimistic forecast and also reduced expectations. The cuts reinforce concerns about limited near-term upside and likely contributed to pressure on the stock. Lumen Shares Down on Analyst Downgrade

Lumen Technologies Company Profile

Lumen Technologies is a multinational technology company specializing in integrated network, edge cloud, security and collaboration services for enterprise and public sector clients. The company's core offerings include high-capacity fiber and IP-based connectivity, managed edge computing solutions designed to accelerate applications and data processing closer to end users, and cybersecurity services ranging from DDoS protection to unified threat management. Through its unified portfolio, Lumen enables organizations to support digital transformation initiatives, modernize infrastructure and enhance operational resilience.

Leveraging one of the largest fiber footprints in North America, as well as infrastructure in Latin America and parts of Europe, Lumen connects customers across more than 60 countries.

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.

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