LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) Shares Down 6.2% After Insider Selling

LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH)’s stock price fell 6.2% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $10.72 and last traded at $10.78. 233,056 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 2,832,293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.49.

Specifically, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $192,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,900,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,800,876. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 104,454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.01, for a total value of $1,254,492.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,916,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,022,036.73. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on LPTH shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on LightPath Technologies from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of LightPath Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LightPath Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on LightPath Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LightPath Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.10.

LightPath Technologies Stock Down 4.8%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a current ratio of 3.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $631.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.04 and a beta of 0.98.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LPTH. Portolan Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,939,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in LightPath Technologies during the third quarter worth $8,445,000. Granahan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $7,085,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LightPath Technologies by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 2,040,110 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,033,000 after purchasing an additional 592,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of LightPath Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $3,669,000. 56.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.