nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Now Covered by Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on LASR. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.31.

nLight Stock Up 6.3%

LASR opened at $67.02 on Wednesday. nLight has a 12-month low of $6.20 and a 12-month high of $69.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.96 and a 200-day moving average of $37.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -142.60 and a beta of 2.27.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $81.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.71 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 9.28% and a negative net margin of 8.98%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 71.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.30) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at nLight

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $1,190,867.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,285,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,711,100.20. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total transaction of $2,399,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,224 shares in the company, valued at $7,126,855.68. This trade represents a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LASR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in nLight by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 622.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 77,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 66,518 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 162.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of nLight during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $731,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in nLight by 100.6% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 140,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 70,236 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.