I have been involved in $LPTH stock for more than 5 years. The size of my position has varied over those years, and I have played to support and resistance several times. Around two years ago, the company hired a new CEO, Sam Rubin. Sam joined Lightpath right as Covid hit the U.S. and, after getting settled in, discovered that the China division of LightPath had been embezzling MILLIONS of dollars from the company almost since its day of inception.
Not exactly the ideal situation to take on as CEO of the first publicly-traded company to run. Sam made the tough but prudent choice to address the issue in China, which set the company back a bit from the disruption of basically going in and cleaning house, but there were also monetary costs associated.
Even with that rocky start, Sam managed to build a strong team around him and replaced the executive team in China. While that issue has been resolved and in the rearview mirror. There are other challenges like supply chain issues and the shutdown that is currently in place in China. Many shareholders are not happy with the company's progress over the last two years since Sam took over. Let us not forget that the entire micro and small-cap sector has been under pressure over the previous twelve months. I suggest that Sam has placed the company on a much stronger foundation.
Lightpath has two things that separate them from the competition in an industry growing exponentially with new use cases and sectors in their infancy stages. The total addressable market is growing weekly. Lightpath's proprietary lens molding process enables them to create and mass-produce what Lightpaths refers to as a "Free Form Lens."
Another recent announcement that did not move the needle on the stock was Lightpath's approval of their BD-6 thermal optic coated lens, a less expensive substitute geranium, which most thermal optics lens manufacturers use. The BD-6 material is made right here in the USA! The best part is they completed an extensive and exhausting evaluation process with the department of defense and succeeded in getting the approval for their BD-6 products to be used in military applications. Lightpath is self-sustaining on cash and has a nice backlog of around 21 million. Sam suggests in the interview to watch the news flow from Lightpath. Sam and his team can now focus on growing the business. I am impressed with what Sam has accomplished despite all the challenges he was dealt. Think about what Sam and his team have done with all those headwinds. As a shareholder or potential investors, people should be happy that there is a clean slate. In my view, the market is not appreciating the level of significance the two product differentiators Lightpath holds. Technically, the stock is in an exciting place to consider adding to my position. If I did not already have a stake, I would be looking to start dipping my toe at these levels.
With San leading the charge I feel Lightpath Technologies is another "Hidden Gems!" I will leave that up to you to decide for yourself. Watch the video and let me know your thoughts.
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