Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) Stock Price Down 3.6% – Time to Sell?

Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE)’s share price fell 3.6% on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $591.17 and last traded at $624.65. Approximately 4,428,726 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 5,588,465 shares. The stock had previously closed at $648.06.

Latest Lumentum News

These are some of the LITE news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Lumentum rose sharply amid a broad technology-sector rally, which may have supported investor demand for the stock. Article: Lumentum rises 15% amid broad technology rally
• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein raised its price target on Lumentum, signaling improved valuation expectations from that analyst. Article: Lumentum Stock Gets Price Target Increase from Sanford C. Bernstein
• Negative Sentiment: UBS issued a pessimistic forecast for Lumentum, adding to concerns about the stock’s outlook. Article: UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lumentum Stock Price

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LITE shares. Weiss Ratings cut Lumentum from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research cut shares of Lumentum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Deutsche Bank started coverage on shares of Lumentum in a report on Monday, August 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,200.00 target price for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Lumentum from $1,200.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on Lumentum from $1,300.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,053.17.

Lumentum Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $56.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.94 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $877.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $805.47.

Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The technology company reported $4.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.35. Lumentum had a negative net margin of 175.82% and a positive return on equity of 28.85%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 136.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lumentum Holdings Inc. will post 19.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Lumentum news, CEO Michael E. Hurlston sold 548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $958.66, for a total value of $525,345.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 186,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $179,222,445.66. This represents a 0.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Vincent Retort sold 38,663 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $852.59, for a total value of $32,963,687.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 78,440 shares in the company, valued at $66,877,159.60. This trade represents a 33.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 94,496 shares of company stock worth $85,978,498 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lumentum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LITE. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lumentum in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lumentum during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Signature Equity Partners LLC raised its stake in Lumentum by 220.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 32 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lumentum in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lumentum in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

About Lumentum

Lumentum Holdings Inc. develops and manufactures optical and photonic products used in communications networks and industrial applications. Its offerings include optical components, modules and lasers that help transmit and process data across telecommunications and data center networks. The company also supplies lasers and related technologies for industrial uses, including precision manufacturing and semiconductor production. Its products serve customers in markets around the world. Lumentum became an independent public company in 2015 through a spin-off from JDSU, now Viavi Solutions.