LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Stock Price Up 9.8% – Here’s Why

LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) was up 9.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $11.24 and last traded at $11.22. Approximately 810,272 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,736,559 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on LPTH. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LightPath Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of LightPath Technologies from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of LightPath Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on LightPath Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LightPath Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.10.

LightPath Technologies Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $633.66 million, a P/E ratio of -21.12 and a beta of 1.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LightPath Technologies news, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 770,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.72, for a total value of $9,028,162.12. Following the sale, the director owned 2,728,968 shares in the company, valued at $31,983,504.96. The trade was a 22.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 2,901,568 shares of company stock worth $35,150,961 over the last three months. Company insiders own 24.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LPTH. AWM Investment Company Inc. lifted its position in LightPath Technologies by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 2,040,110 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,033,000 after purchasing an additional 592,500 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of LightPath Technologies by 3.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,967,566 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after buying an additional 72,208 shares during the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,939,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LightPath Technologies by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,449,642 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,656,000 after buying an additional 181,538 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies in the third quarter worth approximately $8,445,000. 56.29% of the stock is currently 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.