LightPath Technologies Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:LPTH)

LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 19,909 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 372% compared to the average volume of 4,216 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on LPTH. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LightPath Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised LightPath Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on shares of LightPath Technologies from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of LightPath Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of LightPath Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.10.

LightPath Technologies Stock Up 7.4%

Shares of LPTH stock traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $11.81. 1,007,672 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,904,769. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $11.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.10. The stock has a market cap of $681.54 million, a PE ratio of -22.71 and a beta of 0.98. LightPath Technologies has a 1 year low of $1.61 and a 1 year high of $15.24. The company has a current ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LightPath Technologies news, Director Run Strategic Opportunit North sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.09, for a total transaction of $664,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,020,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,518,171.43. This represents a 1.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,478,762 shares of company stock worth $29,982,515 in the last three months. 24.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LightPath Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in LightPath Technologies during the third quarter worth $953,000. Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $1,322,000. Portolan Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $12,939,000. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of LightPath Technologies by 141.0% in the third quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 117,000 shares during the period. Finally, Apis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LightPath Technologies during the third quarter worth about $634,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.