Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) Stock Price

Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $61.00 to $76.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LITE. Northland Securities upped their price target on Lumentum from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Lumentum from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America increased their target price on Lumentum from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Lumentum from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Lumentum from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.85.

Lumentum Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LITE traded down $4.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $81.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,029,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,471,608. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.13. Lumentum has a one year low of $38.28 and a one year high of $89.70.

Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The technology company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $308.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.36 million. Lumentum had a negative return on equity of 6.79% and a negative net margin of 40.70%. Lumentum’s quarterly revenue was down 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lumentum will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lumentum

In related news, CAO Matthew Joseph Sepe sold 8,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.60, for a total transaction of $715,867.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,688.80. This trade represents a 27.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Harold L. Covert sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.17, for a total value of $1,307,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $763,696.37. This represents a 63.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lumentum

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LITE. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lumentum by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lumentum by 85.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 436 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lumentum by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,587 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC grew its position in Lumentum by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Lumentum by 2.5% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,868 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lumentum Company Profile

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.