Lightbridge (NASDAQ:LTBR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Lightbridge Corporation (NASDAQ:LTBR) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $18.75, but opened at $20.31. Lightbridge shares last traded at $20.2250, with a volume of 408,429 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lightbridge in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Lightbridge Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.82. The company has a market capitalization of $526.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.56 and a beta of 1.81.

Lightbridge (NASDAQ:LTBR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The energy company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter.

Insider Transactions at Lightbridge

In other Lightbridge news, Director Jesse L. Funches sold 1,448 shares of Lightbridge stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.67, for a total transaction of $32,826.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 64,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,469,922.80. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sweta Chakraborty sold 20,000 shares of Lightbridge stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $303,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 32,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $492,950.70. This trade represents a 38.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 127,845 shares of company stock worth $3,037,064 in the last ninety days. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LTBR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lightbridge by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,487,461 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $31,549,000 after buying an additional 237,378 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Lightbridge by 22.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,501 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,091 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Lightbridge by 4.9% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 28,241 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Lightbridge by 16.9% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 36,771 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 5,316 shares during the period. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lightbridge during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,473,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.14% of the company’s stock.

Lightbridge Company Profile

Lightbridge Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in developing nuclear fuel technology. It develops and commercializes metallic nuclear fuels. The company was formerly known as Thorium Power, Ltd. and changed its name to Lightbridge Corporation in September 2009. Lightbridge Corporation is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.