nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $60.76 and last traded at $57.64, with a volume of 2484663 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LASR shares. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on nLight in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of nLight from $33.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, nLight presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.00.

nLight Trading Up 5.4%

The company has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of -65.50 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 5.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of nLight stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $1,190,867.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,285,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,711,100.20. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total value of $2,399,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares in the company, valued at $7,126,855.68. This trade represents a 25.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 127,502 shares of company stock valued at $4,622,166. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in nLight by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,989,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,166,000 after buying an additional 125,446 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC increased its stake in nLight by 1.7% during the second quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,107,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,473,000 after acquiring an additional 34,348 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of nLight by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,684,000 after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in nLight by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,485,000 after buying an additional 341,948 shares during the period. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. raised its position in nLight by 1.9% in the second quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 1,344,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,468,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. 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. The company also provides laser sensors, including light detection and ranging technologies for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications; and fiber amplifiers, beam combination, and control systems for use in high-energy laser systems in directed energy applications.