Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) is one of the recent additions to the S&P 500 index and thus makes it to our list of the 10 stocks that were added to the S&P 500 recently. It has performed relatively well, with shares up nearly 10% since the addition to the index.
Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) is witnessing extreme volatility due to a broader selloff in AI and optics stocks, following reports of OpenAI delaying its IPO. However, LITE remains solid fundamentally, with almost $400 million in backlog in optical circuit switches, backed by major partnerships with NVIDIA and other tech giants. There are concerns around LITE’s valuations given its remarkable growth so far in 2026 and high expectations around AI optics. However, analysts continue to maintain a positive stance on Lumentum. Analysts also see an upside of 38% with the stock already skyrocketing over 120% year-to-date.
Photo from Lumentum website
On June 11, JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating on Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE), despite investor uncertainty around co-packaged optics adoption. The firm believes that these concerns are overstated as Lumentum continues to progress, especially its collaboration with NVIDIA and broader customer interest in its co-packaged and near-package optics are major evidence. This shows that Lumentum remains closely linked to the optical layer of AI data centers, a growing tier as AI cluster demand remains robust. During the Q3 FY2026 earnings call, Lumentum’s management highlighted co-packaged optics and optical circuit switches as future earnings drivers.
On June 9, Needham analyst Ryan Koontz also reiterated a Buy rating on Lumentum with a $1,040 price target, continuing to push its bullish stance amid the high AI optical networking demand as data centers transition traffic from copper links to optical connections. Koontz has named Lumentum a 2026 ‘pick of the year.’ The analyst believes that the company’s direct exposure to the bandwidth challenge, which Lumentum is well-positioned to fill through its optical components and photonics abilities.
Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) provides optical and photonic products. It operates through two segments: Cloud and Networking, which deals with optical and photonic components, modules, and subsystems, and Industrial Tech, which includes solid-state lasers, kilowatt-class fiber lasers, ultrafast lasers, diode lasers, and gas lasers.
While we acknowledge the risk and potential of LITE as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LITE and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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