nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.31.

nLight Price Performance

nLight stock opened at $69.95 on Monday. nLight has a 12-month low of $6.20 and a 12-month high of $72.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of -148.83 and a beta of 2.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.85.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $81.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.71 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 9.28% and a negative net margin of 8.98%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.30) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO James Nias sold 3,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $201,308.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 95,707 shares in the company, valued at $5,930,005.72. This trade represents a 3.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 13,038 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $807,834.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 183,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,350,204.56. This trade represents a 6.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 162,528 shares of company stock valued at $9,223,597. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of nLight

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LASR. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in nLight by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in nLight by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $997,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in 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.