Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Boosts Position in nLight $LASR

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC increased its stake in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,978 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,435 shares during the period. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC’s holdings in nLight were worth $3,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in nLight during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in nLight by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in nLight during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in nLight by 1,599.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO James Nias sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total value of $29,502.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 98,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,006,701.49. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 177,572 shares in the company, valued at $12,501,068.80. This represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 405,487 shares of company stock worth $27,566,119. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LASR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, nLight currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.06.

nLight Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LASR opened at $78.54 on Friday. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $13.45 and a fifty-two week high of $86.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -261.79 and a beta of 2.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.06.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.14 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

nLight News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight’s recent quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.20 versus $0.08 expected and revenue of $80.18 million versus $72.14 million expected. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the view that business momentum remains strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Research coverage has stayed constructive, including reports highlighting nLight as a strong momentum stock and multiple bullish analyst ratings, which can help support investor confidence in LASR.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several executives, including CEO Scott H. Keeney, CFO Joseph John Corso, and CAO James Nias, sold shares recently. The filings say the trades were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans and to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, which makes them less concerning than discretionary selling.
• Negative Sentiment: Even though the insider sales appear routine, the volume of selling from top executives may still weigh on sentiment in the short term as some investors interpret it as profit-taking after a sharp run-up in the share price.

nLight 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.