Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $26.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target indicates a potential upside of 22.23% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on LASR. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of nLight from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “speculative buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on nLight from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.67.

nLight Stock Up 9.9%

LASR stock traded up $2.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $32.73. 929,454 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 663,167. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.65 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 4.41. nLight has a 1 year low of $6.20 and a 1 year high of $36.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.14.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $61.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.24 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 21.66% and a negative return on equity of 19.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.10) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $106,671.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 265,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,890,877.14. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 62,507 shares of nLight stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.99, for a total transaction of $1,937,091.93. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,319,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,866,987.62. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 374,980 shares of company stock valued at $10,650,501 over the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in nLight by 147.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of nLight in the third quarter worth $49,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in nLight by 162.4% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in nLight in the second quarter valued at $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.