New York, Feb 25, 2026, 10:39 (EST) — Regular session on.
- Lumentum climbed roughly 8% during the morning session, moving closer to setting a new all-time high.
- Citi bumped its Lumentum price target up to $800, putting an “upside” catalyst watch in place through mid-March.
- At the OFC conference, traders are watching closely for fresh signs of AI-fueled optics rollouts.
Lumentum Holdings Inc surged Wednesday morning, gaining roughly 8.4% to $746.39 after spiking close to $765 earlier in the session. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1%. Coherent and Ciena, both in the optical sector, were also moving higher.
After finishing Tuesday at $688.27, the optical components maker logged its second consecutive gain, the stock’s momentum drawing in new buyers once again.
Citi’s Papa Sylla bumped his price target on Lumentum up to $800 from $560, sticking with a buy call and flagging a “30-day catalyst watch” for potential upside as the Optical Fiber Communication conference approaches March 17-19, according to TipRanks, which referenced TheFly. TipRanks
The conference carries real weight for this slice of the market. You hear what customers are actually buying, what’s moving, and what’s still bogged down in trials, especially when it comes to optical networking equipment for AI data center expansion.
Optical circuit switching (OCS) is in the spotlight for investors lately — it routes data by switching the light paths. Co-packaged optics (CPO) is drawing attention too, since it moves optical links closer to chips, trimming both power use and distance within servers. Both technologies target the same bottleneck: keeping AI clusters fed with enough bandwidth to avoid traffic jams.
Lumentum posted fresh guidance on Feb. 3, projecting fiscal Q3 net revenue between $780 million and $830 million, with non-GAAP diluted EPS expected in a $2.15 to $2.35 range. Both figures top last year’s numbers by a fair margin.
Even so, there’s risk in the mix. Much of the stock’s climb banks on demand spreading out from just those initial rollouts, with margins staying intact as sales pick up. But if the tone at the conference is light on substance, or buyers start kicking the can down the road, shares could quickly lose altitude.
Right now, traders are eyeing Lumentum to see if it can stay above its late February breakout zone. The question is whether the move will be enough to bring more names in the optical group up with it.
The Optical Fiber Communication conference is slated for March 17-19. Lumentum’s next earnings report is on the calendar for May, Investing.com data shows.
