Lumentum Holdings (NASDAQ:LITE) shares were last seen up 7.4% to trade at $970.40, with the photonics company set to join the Nasdaq-100 (NDX) on May 18, replacing CoStar Group (CSPG). The stock earlier hit a record high of $1,055.75.
LITE has now cleared the $1000 level, which turned away last week's rally. The equity is up 168% in 2026, with pullbacks contained by LITE's ascending 40-day moving average.
A short squeeze could power additional gains. Short interest fell 22.4% over the last two reporting periods, and 8.91 million shares now sold short make up a notable 12.6% of the equity's available float.
Short-term options traders could be positioning for a breather. LITE's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.08 ranks in the 87th percentile of annual readings. Options are an intriguing move though, as Lumentum's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at a high 87 out of 100, indicating it has tended to exceed option traders' volatility expectations in the past year.
