Royce & Associates LP Sells 404,539 Shares of nLight $LASR

Royce & Associates LP reduced its holdings in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 924,383 shares of the company’s stock after selling 404,539 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in nLight were worth $34,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LASR. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of nLight by 1,599.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of nLight by 155.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of nLight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of nLight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of nLight by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LASR opened at $78.54 on Tuesday. nLight has a 52-week low of $13.45 and a 52-week high of $86.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -261.79 and a beta of 2.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.54.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. William Blair assumed coverage on nLight in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 41,373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total value of $2,912,659.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,334,146 shares in the company, valued at $164,323,878.40. This represents a 1.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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, CAO James Nias sold 415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total value of $29,502.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 98,561 shares in the company, valued at $7,006,701.49. The trade was a 0.42% 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. Insiders have sold 405,487 shares of company stock worth $27,566,119 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

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.