Wasatch Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in Luna Innovations Incorporated (NASDAQ:LUNA)

Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Luna Innovations Incorporated (NASDAQ:LUNA) by 60.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,023,242 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 763,165 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP owned about 0.06% of Luna Innovations worth $6,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LUNA. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Luna Innovations by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 155,482 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 7,209 shares during the last quarter. AMH Equity Ltd boosted its holdings in Luna Innovations by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. AMH Equity Ltd now owns 1,619,778 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $10,772,000 after purchasing an additional 116,425 shares during the last quarter. Skylands Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Luna Innovations by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 239,653 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 29,650 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Luna Innovations by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 42,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 17,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Portfolio Partners LLC purchased a new position in Luna Innovations in the fourth quarter valued at about $136,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.46% of the company’s stock.

Luna Innovations Price Performance

NASDAQ:LUNA remained flat at $2.96 during trading hours on Tuesday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 282,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,576. The company’s 50 day moving average is $3.03 and its 200 day moving average is $4.82. Luna Innovations Incorporated has a 52 week low of $1.91 and a 52 week high of $9.57. The firm has a market cap of $100.35 million, a PE ratio of -36.94 and a beta of 1.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Luna Innovations from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Luna Innovations in a report on Monday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Luna Innovations has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.00.

About Luna Innovations

Luna Innovations Incorporated provides fiber optic test, measurement, and control products worldwide. The company offers test and measurement equipment for fiber optic components and sub-assemblies; polarization control products, including components, modules, and instruments to measure, manage, and control polarization and group delay in fiber optic networks; tunable lasers; and single frequency lasers.