nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Shares Down 7% – What’s Next?

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) shares were down 7% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $44.05 and last traded at $44.0850. Approximately 239,359 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 1,435,411 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research downgraded nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price target on nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.94.

nLight Stock Down 1.8%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.08. The company has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -173.20 and a beta of 2.31.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. nLight had a negative return on equity of 2.83% and a negative net margin of 4.02%.The company had revenue of $82.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that nLight will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total transaction of $73,310.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 97,621 shares in the company, valued at $7,613,461.79. This trade represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 181,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total transaction of $8,520,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,185,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,434,628.32. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 479,831 shares of company stock worth $25,378,732 in the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of nLight during the first quarter valued at about $52,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in nLight by 155.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in nLight by 7,871.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in nLight during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

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.