nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $75.50.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LASR. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, May 8th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. William Blair began coverage on nLight in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of LASR opened at $63.25 on Monday. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $17.84 and a fifty-two week high of $86.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -210.83 and a beta of 2.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.53.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. nLight’s quarterly revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total value of $2,497,510.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 177,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,501,068.80. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 46,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $3,200,412.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,375,519 shares in the company, valued at $162,675,541.12. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 391,038 shares of company stock valued at $28,367,419 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in nLight by 1,599.1% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings 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 boosted its position in nLight by 155.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in nLight during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of nLight during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.