nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CFO Sells $1,386,326.20 in Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CFO Joseph John Corso sold 18,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $1,386,326.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 252,451 shares in the company, valued at $18,974,217.16. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Joseph John Corso also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 18th, Joseph John Corso sold 19,575 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total value of $1,386,301.50.
• On Friday, March 6th, Joseph John Corso sold 12,290 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.39, for a total value of $742,193.10.
• On Thursday, March 5th, Joseph John Corso sold 13,038 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $807,834.48.

nLight Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of nLight stock traded down $1.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.49. 997,065 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,332,100. The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -231.63 and a beta of 2.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.02 and its 200-day moving average is $51.29. nLight has a 52 week low of $12.45 and a 52 week high of $86.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The company’s revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.81.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LASR. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in nLight by 1,599.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted 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 period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of nLight by 155.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of nLight in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of nLight in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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. 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.