Insider Selling: nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Sells $3,200,613.44 in Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 42,584 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $3,200,613.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,467,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $185,453,166.20. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

nLight Stock Up 7.2%

LASR stock opened at $76.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of -254.76 and a beta of 2.34. nLight has a twelve month low of $13.38 and a twelve month high of $86.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.88.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The business had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

nLight News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight reported strong quarterly results earlier this month, with EPS of $0.20 versus estimates of $0.08 and revenue of $80.18 million versus expectations of $72.14 million. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the company’s growth story and helping support the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with several firms reiterating or raising buy ratings and price targets, including targets as high as $100. That suggests the market still sees room for more upside in LASR.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple insider sales were disclosed by CEO Scott H. Keeney, CFO Joseph John Corso, and CAO James Nias. The company said the trades were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans and to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards, which makes them less concerning than discretionary selling.
• Neutral Sentiment: The selling was sizable in dollar terms, especially from the CEO and CFO, so investors may still view it as a sentiment headwind even though the transactions appear routine.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on LASR. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, nLight currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.06.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in nLight by 1,599.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in nLight by 155.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in nLight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in nLight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.