nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Investment analysts at Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 41.75% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, nLight presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.31.

nLight Price Performance

nLight stock opened at $67.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -142.60 and a beta of 2.27. nLight has a 1-year low of $6.20 and a 1-year high of $69.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.96 and its 200 day moving average is $37.36.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $81.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.30) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 71.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total value of $1,190,867.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $7,126,855.68. This 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in nLight by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in nLight by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $661,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of nLight by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of nLight by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. 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.