LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $13.60, but opened at $13.02. LightPath Technologies shares last traded at $13.2960, with a volume of 387,492 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPTH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised LightPath Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of LightPath Technologies from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised their price target on LightPath Technologies from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.10.

LightPath Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.97 and a quick ratio of 3.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $707.47 million, a P/E ratio of -23.81 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in LightPath Technologies by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,623 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 5,223 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. increased its holdings in LightPath Technologies by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 63,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 6,691 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its holdings in shares of LightPath Technologies by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 28,400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 8,300 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $108,000. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in LightPath Technologies during the third quarter worth about $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.29% of the company’s stock.

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.