nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Shares Down 5.4% – What’s Next?

Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) traded down 5.4% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $66.43 and last traded at $67.8720. 253,925 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,640,822 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LASR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on nLight in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One equities 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, nLight has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.31.

nLight Stock Down 8.4%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -140.09 and a beta of 2.27.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 13,038 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $807,834.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 183,186 shares in the company, valued at $11,350,204.56. This represents a 6.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO James Nias sold 3,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $201,308.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 95,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,930,005.72. This represents a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 162,528 shares of company stock worth $9,223,597 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in nLight by 1,599.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 155.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of nLight during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in nLight in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.