Joseph John Corso Sells 3,840 Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total transaction of $299,481.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,549,358.68. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Joseph John Corso also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, June 4th, Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total transaction of $278,259.30.
• On Wednesday, May 20th, Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, Joseph John Corso sold 20,243 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $1,386,240.64.
• On Monday, May 18th, Joseph John Corso sold 19,575 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total transaction of $1,386,301.50.
• On Friday, May 15th, Joseph John Corso sold 18,445 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $1,386,326.20.

nLight Trading Down 12.1%

Shares of LASR stock opened at $65.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of -219.49 and a beta of 2.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.10. nLight has a 12 month low of $16.87 and a 12 month high of $86.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view nLight favorably, with the stock carrying an average rating of “Moderate Buy”, which may help support longer-term confidence in the company. nLight Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares on June 4 and 3,840 shares on June 3 under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting, which suggests routine selling rather than a change in outlook. SEC filing for CFO Joseph John Corso sale
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 8,901 shares on June 3 and 16,089 shares on June 4, also through a 10b5-1 plan for tax withholding on vested awards; the company says the trades were planned and do not necessarily signal fundamental weakness. SEC filing for CEO Scott H. Keeney sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer James Nias also sold 940 shares on June 3 under the same type of pre-arranged plan, adding to the near-term insider selling activity. SEC filing for CAO James Nias sale

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LASR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. William Blair started coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of nLight in the 4th quarter worth about $41,315,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of nLight by 377.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,057,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,327,000 after buying an additional 835,720 shares during the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of nLight in the 3rd quarter worth about $22,809,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of nLight by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,864,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,130,000 after buying an additional 747,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of nLight by 537.8% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 631,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,711,000 after buying an additional 532,470 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.