Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $57.41, but opened at $59.51. Lumentum shares last traded at $61.90, with a volume of 359,618 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LITE shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Lumentum in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Lumentum in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Lumentum from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Lumentum from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Lumentum from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.33.

Lumentum Stock Up 3.2 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.28 and a 200 day moving average of $75.17. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of -8.33 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 4.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lumentum news, CFO Wajid Ali sold 2,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 51,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,071,799.84. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lumentum

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Lumentum by 108.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,600,132 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $302,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,871,572 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lumentum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,962,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Lumentum by 98.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,228,371 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $103,122,000 after buying an additional 610,938 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Lumentum by 419.1% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 444,147 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,286,000 after acquiring an additional 583,330 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Lumentum during the fourth quarter worth $42,415,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

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.