LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.18, but opened at $12.16. LightPath Technologies shares last traded at $11.92, with a volume of 273,066 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPTH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 target price on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LightPath Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.12.

LightPath Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.86 and a quick ratio of 3.24. The stock has a market cap of $777.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.78 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.62 and a 200 day moving average of $12.64.

LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $19.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 million. LightPath Technologies had a negative return on equity of 15.55% and a negative net margin of 37.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LightPath Technologies, Inc. will post -0.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at LightPath Technologies

In other news, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 3,571,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $49,999,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,934,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,087,592. The trade was a 54.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,864,452 shares of company stock worth $53,576,437. 24.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPTH. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,445,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of LightPath Technologies by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC now owns 1,030,738 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,132,000 after acquiring an additional 130,738 shares during the last quarter. Monashee Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,080,000. Telemark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,158,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $672,000. 56.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.