Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 747,958 Shares of nLight $LASR

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) by 18.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,864,312 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 747,958 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of nLight worth $144,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of nLight during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in nLight by 1,599.1% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of nLight by 162.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of nLight during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 213.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 3,246 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on LASR. Canaccord Genuity Group raised nLight to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company 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, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.31.

Insider Activity

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total value of $2,399,844.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,224 shares in the company, valued at $7,126,855.68. This represents a 25.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total value of $1,190,867.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,285,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,711,100.20. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,194 shares of company stock valued at $4,138,841. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

nLight Stock Down 6.8%

LASR stock opened at $63.07 on Wednesday. nLight has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $68.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of -134.19 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a quick ratio of 4.36, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.15.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. The firm 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 9.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.30) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.