nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $73.00 and last traded at $72.0490, with a volume of 87586 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LASR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, February 27th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.31.

nLight Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -152.14 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.15.

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

Insider Activity at nLight

In other news, CAO James Nias sold 1,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.42, for a total transaction of $116,471.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 93,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,048,973.58. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 12,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.39, for a total transaction of $742,193.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 170,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,409.44. This represents a 6.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 162,528 shares of company stock valued at $9,223,597 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in nLight during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,315,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of nLight by 377.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,057,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,327,000 after acquiring an additional 835,720 shares during the period. Portolan Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of nLight during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $22,809,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 18.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of nLight by 537.8% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 631,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,711,000 after purchasing an additional 532,470 shares during the period. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.