Lumentum stock falls as Apple makes investment in rival Finisar
Shares of Lumentum Holdings Inc. are down 8.7% in premarket trading Wednesday following news that Apple Inc. was investing $390 million in Finisar Corp. , one of Lumentum's competitors. Both companies make vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, or VCSELs, which help enable 3D-sensing capabilities and facial recognition. In a release, Apple said that its investment in Finisar would "enable Finisar to exponentially increase its R&D spending and high-volume production" of VCSELs. "In the fourth quarter of 2017, Apple will purchase 10 times more VCSEL wafers than were previously manufactured worldwide over a similar time period," the company added. As of Tuesday's close, Apple shares were up 48% so far in 2017, compared with a 34% gain for Lumentum and a 36% drop for Finisar. The S&P 500 Index has gained 19%.
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