Investors Buy Large Volume of Lumen Technologies Put Options (NYSE:LUMN)

Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LUMN) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 76,952 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 157% compared to the typical volume of 29,922 put options.

More Lumen Technologies News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Kathleen (Kate) Johnson purchased ~78,685 shares (~$499.6k) at about $6.35 on Feb. 5, a near 1% increase in her stake — a strong insider signal that likely supported buyer demand. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed an EPS beat and management highlighted AI-driven fiber demand and enterprise/network wins; revenue topped some estimates — supportive fundamental news for recovery narrative. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Major brokers remain mixed: J.P. Morgan moved to “Hold” (neutral), UBS nudged its target up from $5 to $6 while staying neutral, and Goldman raised its target modestly — these provide incremental support but no strong bullish upgrade. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put‑option activity: about 76,952 puts traded (a ~157% jump vs. typical daily put volume) — suggests elevated bearish bets or hedging that can pressure the stock or increase intraday volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup cut its price target (from $11 to $10), and other coverage has highlighted year‑over‑year revenue declines (~8–9% in the quarter) — reminders that growth re‑acceleration remains uncertain. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noted a prior sharp intraday drop (~19.7%), underscoring recent volatility and the potential for outsized moves on mixed news or analyst actions. Read More.

Lumen Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:LUMN opened at $8.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a PE ratio of -4.63 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.21 and its 200 day moving average is $7.04. Lumen Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $3.01 and a fifty-two week high of $11.95.

Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.44. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Lumen Technologies had a negative net margin of 14.02% and a negative return on equity of 158.40%. The business’s revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Lumen Technologies will post -0.87 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kathleen E. Johnson purchased 78,685 shares of Lumen Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.35 per share, for a total transaction of $499,649.75. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 8,562,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,372,395.70. The trade was a 0.93% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LUMN. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Lumen Technologies by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 269,400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after buying an additional 34,300 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lumen Technologies by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 82,711 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 39,956 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Lumen Technologies by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 190,038 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 6,293 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Lumen Technologies by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 120,704 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 3,420 shares during the period. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lumen Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $271,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LUMN shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Lumen Technologies in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Lumen Technologies from $4.25 to $8.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research raised Lumen Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lumen Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lumen Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.88.

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.