nLight (LASR) vs. Its Rivals Critical Contrast

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) is one of 377 publicly-traded companies in the “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare nLight to similar companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk.

Profitability

This table compares nLight and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
nLight	-4.02%	-2.83%	-2.26%
nLight Competitors	-160.23%	-30.21%	-6.88%

Volatility and Risk

nLight has a beta of 2.46, indicating that its stock price is 146% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, nLight’s competitors have a beta of -0.30, indicating that their average stock price is 130% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.9% of nLight shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.2% of shares of all “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of nLight shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.4% of shares of all “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares nLight and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
nLight	$261.33 million	-$23.47 million	-152.08
nLight Competitors	$115.52 billion	$173.80 million	4.90

nLight’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than nLight. nLight is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for nLight and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
nLight	1	1	9	1	2.83
nLight Competitors	2049	7612	10445	662	2.47

nLight presently has a consensus target price of $82.06, suggesting a potential upside of 115.82%. As a group, “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies have a potential upside of 41.07%. Given nLight’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe nLight is more favorable than its competitors.

Summary

nLight beats its competitors on 9 of the 13 factors compared.

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. It sells its products through direct sales force in the United States, China, South Korea, and European countries, as well as through independent sales representatives and distributors in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. The company was formerly known as nLight Photonics Corporation and changed its name to nLIGHT, Inc. in January 2016. nLIGHT, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Camas, Washington.