nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.9375.

LASR has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other nLight news, CEO Scott Keeney sold 181,750 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total value of $8,520,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,185,039 shares in the company, valued at $102,434,628.32. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Geoffrey Moore sold 4,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total transaction of $171,179.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 85,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,295,818.65. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 616,697 shares of company stock valued at $26,999,794 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of nLight during the 2nd quarter worth $339,687,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. acquired a new position in nLight in the second quarter valued at about $65,374,000. Tema ETFs LLC lifted its position in nLight by 84,128.8% during the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 394,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,444,000 after purchasing an additional 393,723 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in nLight by 2,995.5% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 406,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,309,000 after buying an additional 393,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in nLight during the second quarter worth about $27,061,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of LASR opened at $39.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of -159.35 and a beta of 2.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $54.03 and its 200-day moving average is $63.26. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $27.79 and a fifty-two week high of $86.95.

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

nLight Company Profile

nLight, Inc is a photonics company that develops and manufactures high-power semiconductor and fiber lasers, as well as related components and laser systems. Its products are designed for applications that require precise, high-intensity light and are used across industrial, microfabrication, aerospace and defense markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes semiconductor laser diodes, fiber lasers, and advanced laser systems. nLight also develops components and technologies intended to improve laser performance, reliability, beam quality and control.