Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $77.91, but opened at $84.02. Lumentum shares last traded at $85.22, with a volume of 651,762 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Lumentum in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Lumentum from $80.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Lumentum from $69.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays upgraded shares of Lumentum from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Lumentum from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lumentum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.77.

Lumentum Stock Up 1.3 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 4.04.

Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.48). Lumentum had a negative net margin of 40.70% and a negative return on equity of 6.79%. The business had revenue of $336.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.10) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Lumentum Holdings Inc. will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lumentum

In other news, CFO Wajid Ali sold 29,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.06, for a total transaction of $2,542,188.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 56,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,209.52. This represents a 34.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Julia Suzanne Johnson sold 2,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.82, for a total value of $176,617.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,490.34. The trade was a 8.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 101,797 shares of company stock worth $8,881,428 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lumentum

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Lumentum by 301.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 337 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Lumentum by 85.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 436 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Lumentum during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Lumentum by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 670 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Lumentum in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lumentum Company Profile

Lumentum Holdings Inc manufactures and sells optical and photonic products in the Americas, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through two segments: Optical Communications (OpComms) and Commercial Lasers (Lasers). The OpComms segment offers components, modules, and subsystems that enable the transmission and transport of video, audio, and data over high-capacity fiber optic cables.