nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $73.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.16 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 1.09% and a negative net margin of 4.02%. nLight’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.08 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from nLight’s conference call:

• Third-quarter revenue rose 11% year over year to $73.8 million, with record product gross margin of 47.4% and adjusted EBITDA of $11.1 million. Non-GAAP net income was $10.2 million, despite a sequential revenue decline and supply constraints.
• nLIGHT forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $84 million to $90 million and adjusted EBITDA of $12 million to $18 million, expecting sequential growth in both defense and space and advanced manufacturing. The company expects product gross margin to remain above 40% over time.
• Supply constraints prevented about $15 million in product shipments, largely in advanced manufacturing; the fourth-quarter outlook also excludes roughly $15 million of unmet demand. nLIGHT expects to ship that deferred revenue in the first half of 2027, while supplier diversification and other mitigation efforts may require additional investment and increase near-term costs.
• Management cited growing defense demand and its $627 million Joint Laser Weapon System award as support for nLIGHT’s move into system-level directed-energy work. The company sees opportunities in laser sensing, kinetic weapons and space, backed by more than $314 million in cash, restricted cash and investments.

nLight Stock Performance

LASR traded up $8.68 on Friday, hitting $38.02. 2,639,121 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,039,083. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.21. nLight has a 12 month low of $28.05 and a 12 month high of $86.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of -165.30 and a beta of 2.46.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other news, CEO Scott Keeney sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.01, for a total transaction of $4,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,960,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,380,994.34. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William Gossman sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total transaction of $665,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 100,251 shares in the company, valued at $4,447,134.36. This represents a 13.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 621,149 shares of company stock valued at $27,153,700. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

nLight News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLIGHT reported Q3 earnings of $0.16 per share, above analyst estimates of roughly $0.05–$0.06. Revenue was $73.76 million, topping the $68.16 million consensus and increasing 10.5% year over year. Management also cited record product gross margins and strong adjusted EBITDA. nLIGHT Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue guidance of $84 million–$90 million is well above analysts’ $74.7 million estimate, suggesting stronger near-term demand or execution than expected and providing the main forward-looking catalyst for the stock. nLIGHT results and guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: The company said ongoing supply constraints remain, which could limit its ability to meet demand or deliver on its outlook. nLIGHT Q3 results

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LASR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Northcoast Research raised shares of nLight from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on nLight in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on nLight in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.06.

About nLight

nLight, Inc (NASDAQ: LASR) develops and manufactures semiconductor and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, aerospace and defense, and other specialized applications. Its products are designed to deliver high optical power, precision and reliability for uses such as materials processing, metal cutting and welding, additive manufacturing, and directed-energy systems.

The company offers a range of laser components and systems, including high-power diode lasers, fiber lasers, and related optical and beam-delivery technologies.