Granite Investment Partners LLC Has $10.11 Million Stake in nLight $LASR

Granite Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,456 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned 0.31% of nLight worth $10,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in nLight by 1,599.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in nLight by 155.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in nLight in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of nLight during the third quarter worth $41,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

nLight Stock Performance

NASDAQ LASR opened at $58.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -195.59 and a beta of 2.30. nLight has a 52 week low of $17.84 and a 52 week high of $86.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.07 and a 200-day moving average of $60.23.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total transaction of $278,259.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 169,915 shares in the company, valued at $12,386,803.50. The trade was a 2.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 16,089 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $1,200,239.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,185,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,003,909.40. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 391,038 shares of company stock valued at $28,367,419. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LASR has been the subject of a number of research reports. William Blair started coverage on nLight in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC increased 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.50.

About nLight

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.