nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Sells $1,997,528.44 in Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 32,239 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $1,997,528.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,252,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,582,310.76. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

nLight Stock Up 4.2%

NASDAQ LASR opened at $66.49 on Thursday. nLight has a 52 week low of $6.20 and a 52 week high of $69.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $50.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.61. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of -141.47 and a beta of 2.27.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $76.71 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 8.98% and a negative return on equity of 9.28%. nLight’s revenue was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight reported a Q4 beat: revenue grew ~71% YoY and EPS topped estimates, which supports the rally and higher analyst targets.
• Positive Sentiment: The company showcased laser weapon systems to military buyers in Hawaii, drawing direct defense demand interest that can lift revenue visibility for aerospace & defense programs. Military demo article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed but generally bullish on growth — multiple firms raised targets after results (Needham, Cantor Fitzgerald, Baird), leaving consensus at a “Moderate Buy.”
• Neutral Sentiment: Insiders remain large holders overall — CEO Scott Keeney still owns millions of shares, which tempers concerns that sales equal loss of conviction. SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insider sales by CEO Scott Keeney (several filings: 32,239; 23,656; 19,096 shares across early March) reduce insider ownership slightly and can be viewed negatively by momentum traders. CEO sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Joseph Corso sold ~25k shares across March 5–6 (reducing his holding by ~6.7%); CAO James Nias also sold — the cluster of senior?management sales raises governance/near?term sentiment risk. CFO sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Hedge fund Divisar reportedly sold ~287k shares (~$9.6M), an institutional profit?taking move that could pressure the stock if others follow. Divisar sell article
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/valuation critique: a recent Seeking Alpha piece argues LASR is trading at a “dangerous premium,” which may encourage cautious investors to trim positions. Seeking Alpha valuation article

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,485,000 after purchasing an additional 341,948 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of nLight in the fourth quarter worth about $353,000. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of nLight by 176.5% in the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 30,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 19,544 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LASR. Roth Mkm upped their target price on nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on nLight in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.31.

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.