nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Upgraded at Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research upgraded shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $75.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on LASR. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on nLight in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, nLight presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of LASR opened at $38.48 on Wednesday. nLight has a one year low of $28.05 and a one year high of $86.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -153.92 and a beta of 2.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.45 and a 200 day moving average of $60.58.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. nLight had a negative return on equity of 2.83% and a negative net margin of 4.02%. The company had revenue of $82.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. nLight’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that nLight will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott Keeney sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.01, for a total value of $4,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,960,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,380,994.34. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Joseph Corso sold 3,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $146,210.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,200 shares in the company, valued at $6,729,678. This trade represents a 2.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 616,697 shares of company stock valued at $26,999,794. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in nLight in the 1st quarter worth $52,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in nLight by 7,871.4% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of nLight in the second quarter valued at about $81,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in shares of nLight in the first quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of nLight in the second quarter worth about $108,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

About nLight

nLight, Inc is a photonics company that develops and manufactures semiconductor and fiber lasers, optical amplifiers, and related laser components and systems. Its products are designed for applications requiring high power, precision, reliability, and advanced beam control.

The company serves customers in industrial, microfabrication, aerospace and defense, and other specialized markets. Its technologies are used in areas such as materials processing, manufacturing, directed-energy systems, and other applications that rely on high-performance laser sources.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, nLight operates internationally, with research, development, manufacturing, and sales activities serving customers across North America, Europe, and Asia.