nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.48 and traded as high as $44.21. nLight shares last traded at $43.21, with a volume of 1,936,073 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Northcoast Research upgraded nLight from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC started coverage on nLight in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. One equities 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.06.

nLight Trading Up 13.7%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -187.87 and a beta of 2.46.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.11. nLight had a negative net margin of 4.02% and a negative return on equity of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $73.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. nLight’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that nLight will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at nLight

In other news, CFO Joseph Corso sold 3,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total transaction of $146,210.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,729,678. The trade was a 2.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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, CAO James Nias sold 1,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.69, for a total value of $41,707.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 96,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,930,491.24. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 621,149 shares of company stock valued at $27,153,700. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of nLight in the third quarter worth $39,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in shares of nLight during the first quarter valued at about $70,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of nLight by 849.5% during the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of nLight during the second quarter valued at about $81,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in nLight by 119.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

nLight Company Profile

nLIGHT, Inc develops and manufactures lasers and related photonics products for industrial, aerospace and defense applications. Its offerings include high-power semiconductor lasers, fiber lasers and ultrafast lasers, along with components and systems used to deliver and control laser energy.

The company’s products support applications such as materials processing and other industrial tasks, as well as defense technologies including directed-energy systems. nLIGHT serves customers in the United States and international markets.

Founded in 2000, nLIGHT is headquartered in Camas, Washington.