Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) Stock

Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $92.00 to $100.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 12.76% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. B. Riley upped their price objective on Lumentum from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Lumentum in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Lumentum in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lumentum from $100.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Lumentum in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lumentum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.47.

Lumentum Stock Down 4.7%

Lumentum stock opened at $114.62 on Wednesday. Lumentum has a twelve month low of $45.65 and a twelve month high of $129.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.58. The company has a current ratio of 4.37, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 498.35 and a beta of 1.33.

Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The technology company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.09. Lumentum had a negative return on equity of 3.02% and a net margin of 1.57%. The business had revenue of $480.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $465.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 55.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lumentum will post 0.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lumentum

In other Lumentum news, Director Alan S. Lowe sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total value of $1,869,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 230,471 shares in the company, valued at $21,542,124.37. This represents a 7.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vincent Retort sold 22,719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $2,499,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 121,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,392,170. This represents a 15.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 76,000 shares of company stock worth $7,260,909. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lumentum

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in shares of Lumentum during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lumentum by 164.4% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 476 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lumentum by 103.2% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lumentum by 2,235.3% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lumentum during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

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.