LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $13.23, but opened at $14.05. LightPath Technologies shares last traded at $14.6330, with a volume of 906,045 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on LPTH shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of LightPath Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of LightPath Technologies from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on LightPath Technologies from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of LightPath Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.13.

LightPath Technologies Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.65. The stock has a market cap of $623.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.91 and a beta of 0.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at LightPath Technologies

In other LightPath Technologies news, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 770,321 shares of LightPath Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.72, for a total transaction of $9,028,162.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,728,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,983,504.96. The trade was a 22.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 24.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPTH. Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $12,939,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies in the third quarter worth approximately $8,445,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,669,000. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,322,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in LightPath Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $953,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.29% of the company’s stock.

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.