Scott Keeney Sells 41,371 Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 41,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.36, for a total value of $3,034,976.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,210,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,127,727.44. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

nLight Trading Up 8.2%

Shares of LASR opened at $76.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of -254.52 and a beta of 2.31. nLight has a 1 year low of $15.35 and a 1 year high of $86.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.09.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LASR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of nLight during the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in nLight during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in nLight by 7,871.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.