nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CAO Sells $111,762.92 in Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CAO James Nias sold 1,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $111,762.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 101,744 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,079.04. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

James Nias also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 20th, James Nias sold 415 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total value of $29,502.35.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, James Nias sold 1,618 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $110,800.64.
• On Monday, May 18th, James Nias sold 1,565 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total value of $110,833.30.
• On Thursday, March 12th, James Nias sold 1,808 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.42, for a total value of $116,471.36.
• On Thursday, March 5th, James Nias sold 3,249 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $201,308.04.

nLight Stock Performance

LASR stock opened at $76.43 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.88. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $13.38 and a fifty-two week high of $86.95. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -254.76 and a beta of 2.34.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its quarterly 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 in the prior year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LASR. Robert W. Baird began coverage on nLight in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.06.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LASR. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of nLight in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,315,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of nLight by 377.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,057,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,327,000 after purchasing an additional 835,720 shares during the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of nLight in the third quarter worth approximately $22,809,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of nLight by 18.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,864,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,130,000 after purchasing an additional 747,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of nLight by 537.8% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 631,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,711,000 after purchasing an additional 532,470 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight reported strong quarterly results earlier this month, with EPS of $0.20 versus estimates of $0.08 and revenue of $80.18 million versus expectations of $72.14 million. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the company’s growth story and helping support the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with several firms reiterating or raising buy ratings and price targets, including targets as high as $100. That suggests the market still sees room for more upside in LASR.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple insider sales were disclosed by CEO Scott H. Keeney, CFO Joseph John Corso, and CAO James Nias. The company said the trades were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans and to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards, which makes them less concerning than discretionary selling.
• Neutral Sentiment: The selling was sizable in dollar terms, especially from the CEO and CFO, so investors may still view it as a sentiment headwind even though the transactions appear routine.

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.