nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Sells 23,656 Shares

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 23,656 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total value of $1,431,897.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,229,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,928,936.25. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

nLight Trading Up 4.0%

NASDAQ:LASR traded up $2.36 on Monday, hitting $61.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,689,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,992,397. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.79 and a beta of 2.27. nLight has a 52 week low of $6.20 and a 52 week high of $69.52.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LASR. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in nLight by 155.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of nLight in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 7,871.4% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of nLight by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LASR. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.31.

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.