nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $80.9444.

LASR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Zacks Research raised nLight from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Activity at nLight

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 177,572 shares in the company, valued at $12,501,068.80. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 46,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $3,200,412.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,375,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,675,541.12. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders sold a total of 391,038 shares of company stock valued at $28,367,419 over the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC raised its holdings in nLight by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 103,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,900,000 after buying an additional 19,435 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in nLight by 2.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of nLight during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $788,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in nLight during the 4th quarter valued at $776,000. Finally, Laurel Oak Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in nLight in the first quarter worth about $2,138,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

nLight Trading Up 0.8%

LASR stock opened at $73.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $69.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -243.33 and a beta of 2.30. nLight has a 12-month low of $18.62 and a 12-month high of $86.95.

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

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.