Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on LUMN. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lumen Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Lumen Technologies from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lumen Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Lumen Technologies from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Lumen Technologies from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $7.88.

Lumen Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUMN opened at $9.87 on Tuesday. Lumen Technologies has a one year low of $3.37 and a one year high of $11.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.67 and a beta of 1.65.

Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. Lumen Technologies’s revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lumen Technologies will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diankha Linear sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.89, for a total value of $355,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 198,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,564,026.81. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lumen Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUMN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Lumen Technologies by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 602,705 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,363,000 after acquiring an additional 26,305 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Lumen Technologies by 26.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 272,031 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 57,522 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Lumen Technologies by 11.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,985,216 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,702,000 after acquiring an additional 300,328 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Lumen Technologies by 15.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 119,673 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 16,332 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Lumen Technologies by 6.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,928,906 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $47,869,000 after acquiring an additional 652,124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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: Alkira acquisition accelerates Lumen’s cloud/network transition — Lumen agreed to buy Alkira for ~$475M in cash, combining Alkira’s cloud‑native control plane with Lumen’s fiber to expand addressable market (management says this helps target cloud‑to‑cloud and data‑center interconnect opportunities important for AI workloads). Lumen to acquire Alkira for $475M
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat and strategic revenue growth — Q1 revenue of $2.90B topped estimates, and management highlighted strategic (digital/cloud) revenue growth as a driver of the transformation away from legacy services. That beat supports the narrative of re‑rating toward a digital networking company. Lumen beats quarterly revenue estimates, to acquire Alkira for $475M
• Positive Sentiment: Raised free‑cash‑flow outlook and improving leverage narrative — management guided 2026 FCF to $1.9B–$2.1B and investors have noted strategic revenue overtaking legacy revenue and lower leverage targets in disclosures/analyst notes. This supports long‑term deleveraging and liquidity to fund the Alkira deal. Lumen outlines $1.9B to $2.1B 2026 FCF outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst moves are mixed — some firms (UBS, TD Cowen) raised price targets recently, but those targets remain below the current market price, indicating analyst views are adjusting but still cautious. Analyst coverage notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Exchange‑offer timing extended — Lumen/Qwest extended early participation/withdrawal deadlines for previously announced exchange offers, a technical capital‑markets update investors should note but that doesn’t change fundamentals immediately. Exchange offer extension
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 EPS missed materially — Lumen reported a non‑GAAP loss of $0.47/sh (worse than consensus), and GAAP metrics were weaker year‑over‑year; the earnings miss tempers the bullish narrative and explains some near‑term selling pressure. Lumen stock slides on wider-than-expected Q1 loss
• Negative Sentiment: $1B 7.50% senior notes add near‑term interest burden — Lumen’s Level 3 Financing priced $1B of 7.500% senior notes due 2037 (priced at par). The high coupon raises financing costs and keeps leverage/interest expense top‑of‑mind for investors assessing margin recovery. Pricing of 7.500% Senior Notes Due 2037

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.