nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney Sells 42,584 Shares of Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 42,584 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $3,200,613.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,467,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,453,166.20. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

nLight Stock Down 1.9%

LASR stock opened at $69.49 on Wednesday. nLight has a twelve month low of $12.45 and a twelve month high of $86.95. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of -231.63 and a beta of 2.34. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.29.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The business had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.14 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that nLight will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LASR. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, nLight has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.81.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of nLight in the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of nLight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

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.