nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $69.83 and last traded at $68.50, with a volume of 2937693 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $62.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LASR shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research cut nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.31.

nLight Stock Up 9.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -145.74 and a beta of 2.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.93 and a 200-day moving average of $39.43.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $81.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.71 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 8.98% and a negative return on equity of 9.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.30) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at nLight

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 19,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total transaction of $1,122,844.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,210,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,949,705.20. This trade represents a 0.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 12,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.39, for a total value of $742,193.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 170,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,409.44. The trade was a 6.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 162,528 shares of company stock valued at $9,223,597 over the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of nLight

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 341,948 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of nLight in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of nLight by 176.5% during the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 30,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 19,544 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.