nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CAO Sells $110,833.30 in Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CAO James Nias sold 1,565 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total transaction of $110,833.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 100,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,124,067.08. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

James Nias also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 20th, James Nias sold 415 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total transaction of $29,502.35.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, James Nias sold 1,618 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $110,800.64.
• On Friday, May 15th, James Nias sold 1,487 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $111,762.92.
• On Thursday, March 12th, James Nias sold 1,808 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.42, for a total transaction of $116,471.36.
• On Thursday, March 5th, James Nias sold 3,249 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $201,308.04.

nLight Stock Up 7.2%

Shares of NASDAQ LASR opened at $76.43 on Friday. nLight has a twelve month low of $13.38 and a twelve month high of $86.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -254.76 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.47 and a 200 day moving average of $51.88.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LASR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, May 8th. William Blair started coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, nLight presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.06.

Key Headlines Impacting nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight reported strong quarterly results earlier this month, with EPS of $0.20 versus estimates of $0.08 and revenue of $80.18 million versus expectations of $72.14 million. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the company’s growth story and helping support the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with several firms reiterating or raising buy ratings and price targets, including targets as high as $100. That suggests the market still sees room for more upside in LASR.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple insider sales were disclosed by CEO Scott H. Keeney, CFO Joseph John Corso, and CAO James Nias. The company said the trades were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans and to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards, which makes them less concerning than discretionary selling.
• Neutral Sentiment: The selling was sizable in dollar terms, especially from the CEO and CFO, so investors may still view it as a sentiment headwind even though the transactions appear routine.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in nLight during the 4th quarter valued at $41,315,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in nLight by 377.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,057,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,327,000 after buying an additional 835,720 shares during the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in nLight during the 3rd quarter valued at $22,809,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in nLight by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,864,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,130,000 after buying an additional 747,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in nLight by 537.8% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 631,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,711,000 after buying an additional 532,470 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.