nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Price Target Raised to $70.00

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $48.00 to $70.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target indicates a potential upside of 11.20% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on LASR. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.14.

nLight Stock Up 3.9%

NASDAQ LASR opened at $62.95 on Friday. nLight has a 12 month low of $6.20 and a 12 month high of $62.98. The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of -71.53 and a beta of 2.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $45.98 and its 200 day moving average is $36.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total value of $2,399,844.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,126,855.68. This trade represents a 25.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $1,190,867.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,285,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,711,100.20. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 127,502 shares of company stock valued at $4,622,166. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in nLight by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,485,000 after acquiring an additional 341,948 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in nLight in the 4th quarter valued at $353,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC increased its stake in nLight by 176.5% in the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 30,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 19,544 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in nLight by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Key nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and top-line beat — nLight reported roughly $81.2M in Q4 revenue (up ~71% YoY), above consensus estimates, showing continued demand strength. Zacks: Q4 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Raised Q1 revenue outlook — nLight issued Q1 revenue guidance of about $70–$76M versus a consensus near $66.9M, signaling continued revenue momentum. Yahoo: Beats Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional interest — recent 13F filings show a new position by Bleakley Financial Group, indicating some institutional accumulation. DefenseWorld: Bleakley takes position
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options volume — flow suggests heightened short-term trading and hedging interest, which can amplify moves in either direction. American Banking News: Options Volume
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call and transcripts available for detail — management walked through drivers and margins on the call; read the transcript for guidance nuance. Seeking Alpha: Q4 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed/weak EPS and profitability metrics — investors reacted to mixed earnings figures: while some outlets record adjusted EPS beats, GAAP/pro forma EPS and margins were weak (MarketBeat noted a GAAP EPS miss and negative net margin/ROE), which pressured the stock. MarketBeat: Earnings details and margins
• Negative Sentiment: Market sold off despite beats — several reports highlight that shares tumbled after the print, suggesting traders focused more on profitability/adjustments and near-term margin outlook than on revenue strength. Seeking Alpha: Stock tumbles despite results

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.