Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $66.61, but opened at $70.51. Lumentum shares last traded at $71.69, with a volume of 208,528 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Lumentum from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $96.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Lumentum in a report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Lumentum from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. B. Riley increased their target price on Lumentum from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays raised Lumentum from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.40.

Lumentum Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.24 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 4.76, a quick ratio of 3.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.04.

Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.41). Lumentum had a negative return on equity of 7.25% and a negative net margin of 36.98%. As a group, research analysts expect that Lumentum Holdings Inc. will post 0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Wajid Ali sold 2,172 shares of Lumentum stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.34, for a total value of $170,154.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,976 shares in the company, valued at $4,071,799.84. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lumentum

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lumentum by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 514 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Lumentum by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 370 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lumentum by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 766 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Lumentum by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,350 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lumentum by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,029 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lumentum

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.