nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CAO James Nias Sells 1,025 Shares

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CAO James Nias sold 1,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.69, for a total transaction of $41,707.25. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 96,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,930,491.24. The trade was a 1.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LASR traded up $1.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,549,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,755. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of -166.12 and a beta of 2.30. nLight has a 52 week low of $27.22 and a 52 week high of $86.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $58.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.43.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. nLight had a negative return on equity of 2.83% and a negative net margin of 4.02%.The business had revenue of $82.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.06 EPS. nLight’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of nLight by 155.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of nLight in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of nLight by 7,871.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LASR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, nLight currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.94.

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.