Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Lumen Technologies from $5.50 to $7.25 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Lumen Technologies from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Lumen Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lumen Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Lumen Technologies from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $7.88.

Lumen Technologies Stock Performance

LUMN opened at $9.87 on Tuesday. Lumen Technologies has a 1 year low of $3.37 and a 1 year high of $11.95. The company has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of -5.67 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.05.

Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lumen Technologies will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lumen Technologies

In other news, Director Diankha Linear sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.89, for a total transaction of $355,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 198,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,564,026.81. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lumen Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lumen Technologies by 1.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,552,549 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $694,942,000 after buying an additional 1,295,177 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Lumen Technologies by 324.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 22,211,742 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $172,585,000 after purchasing an additional 16,981,326 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lumen Technologies by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,390,473 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $142,894,000 after purchasing an additional 473,242 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lumen Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $106,557,000. Finally, Front Street Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Lumen Technologies by 1.1% in the second quarter. Front Street Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,969,084 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,425,000 after purchasing an additional 132,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.19% of the company’s stock.

Lumen Technologies News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Lumen Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alkira acquisition accelerates Lumen’s cloud/network transition — Lumen agreed to buy Alkira for ~$475M in cash, combining Alkira’s cloud‑native control plane with Lumen’s fiber to expand addressable market (management says this helps target cloud‑to‑cloud and data‑center interconnect opportunities important for AI workloads). Lumen to acquire Alkira for $475M
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat and strategic revenue growth — Q1 revenue of $2.90B topped estimates, and management highlighted strategic (digital/cloud) revenue growth as a driver of the transformation away from legacy services. That beat supports the narrative of re‑rating toward a digital networking company. Lumen beats quarterly revenue estimates, to acquire Alkira for $475M
• Positive Sentiment: Raised free‑cash‑flow outlook and improving leverage narrative — management guided 2026 FCF to $1.9B–$2.1B and investors have noted strategic revenue overtaking legacy revenue and lower leverage targets in disclosures/analyst notes. This supports long‑term deleveraging and liquidity to fund the Alkira deal. Lumen outlines $1.9B to $2.1B 2026 FCF outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst moves are mixed — some firms (UBS, TD Cowen) raised price targets recently, but those targets remain below the current market price, indicating analyst views are adjusting but still cautious. Analyst coverage notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Exchange‑offer timing extended — Lumen/Qwest extended early participation/withdrawal deadlines for previously announced exchange offers, a technical capital‑markets update investors should note but that doesn’t change fundamentals immediately. Exchange offer extension
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 EPS missed materially — Lumen reported a non‑GAAP loss of $0.47/sh (worse than consensus), and GAAP metrics were weaker year‑over‑year; the earnings miss tempers the bullish narrative and explains some near‑term selling pressure. Lumen stock slides on wider-than-expected Q1 loss
• Negative Sentiment: $1B 7.50% senior notes add near‑term interest burden — Lumen’s Level 3 Financing priced $1B of 7.500% senior notes due 2037 (priced at par). The high coupon raises financing costs and keeps leverage/interest expense top‑of‑mind for investors assessing margin recovery. Pricing of 7.500% Senior Notes Due 2037

Lumen Technologies Company Profile

Lumen Technologies is a multinational technology company specializing in integrated network, edge cloud, security and collaboration services for enterprise and public sector clients. The company’s core offerings include high-capacity fiber and IP-based connectivity, managed edge computing solutions designed to accelerate applications and data processing closer to end users, and cybersecurity services ranging from DDoS protection to unified threat management. Through its unified portfolio, Lumen enables organizations to support digital transformation initiatives, modernize infrastructure and enhance operational resilience.

Leveraging one of the largest fiber footprints in North America, as well as infrastructure in Latin America and parts of Europe, Lumen connects customers across more than 60 countries.