LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $13.12, but opened at $14.50. LightPath Technologies shares last traded at $14.56, with a volume of 1,326,897 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $16.50 price target on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on LightPath Technologies in a report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LightPath Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.30.

LightPath Technologies Trading Up 15.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $948.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.20 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a current ratio of 3.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 3,571,400 shares of LightPath Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $49,999,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,934,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,087,592. The trade was a 54.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 24.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LPTH. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in LightPath Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,352,000. Tema ETFs LLC increased its stake in LightPath Technologies by 129,258.4% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 1,986,945 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985,409 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies in the second quarter valued at about $8,496,000. PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies during the first quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of LightPath Technologies by 118.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 556,037 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,577,000 after buying an additional 301,225 shares during the last quarter. 56.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LightPath Technologies Company Profile

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.