nLIGHT’s (LASR) Speculative Buy Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their speculative buy rating on shares of nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $17.00 target price on the stock.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of nLIGHT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday.

nLIGHT Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of LASR traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.62. The stock had a trading volume of 145,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,281. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.31. nLIGHT has a 52 week low of $8.13 and a 52 week high of $15.91.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.02. nLIGHT had a negative net margin of 23.81% and a negative return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $51.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.08 million. On average, equities analysts predict that nLIGHT will post -0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at nLIGHT

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 14,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.26, for a total transaction of $172,927.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 146,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,797,328.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 231,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in nLIGHT by 5.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 56,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in nLIGHT by 91.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 4,174 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in nLIGHT by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 5,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 357,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,829,000 after acquiring an additional 7,660 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

nLIGHT Company Profile

nLIGHT, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, and aerospace and defense applications. The company operates in two segments, Laser Products and Advanced Development. It offers semiconductor lasers with various ranges of power levels, wavelengths, and output fiber sizes; and programmable and serviceable fiber lasers for use in industrial and aerospace and defense applications.