nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $73.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.16 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 4.02% and a negative return on equity of 1.09%. nLight’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.08 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from nLight’s conference call:

• Third-quarter revenue rose 11% year over year to $73.8 million, with record product gross margin of 47.4% and adjusted EBITDA of $11.1 million. Non-GAAP net income was $10.2 million, despite a sequential revenue decline and supply constraints.
• nLIGHT forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $84 million to $90 million and adjusted EBITDA of $12 million to $18 million, expecting sequential growth in both defense and space and advanced manufacturing. The company expects product gross margin to remain above 40% over time.
• Supply constraints prevented about $15 million in product shipments, largely in advanced manufacturing; the fourth-quarter outlook also excludes roughly $15 million of unmet demand. nLIGHT expects to ship that deferred revenue in the first half of 2027, while supplier diversification and other mitigation efforts may require additional investment and increase near-term costs.
• Management cited growing defense demand and its $627 million Joint Laser Weapon System award as support for nLIGHT’s move into system-level directed-energy work. The company sees opportunities in laser sensing, kinetic weapons and space, backed by more than $314 million in cash, restricted cash and investments.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of LASR stock traded up $8.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.02. 2,639,121 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,039,083. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $28.05 and a fifty-two week high of $86.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -165.30 and a beta of 2.46. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Joseph Corso sold 3,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total transaction of $146,210.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 162,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,729,678. This represents a 2.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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, Director William Gossman sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total transaction of $665,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 100,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,447,134.36. This trade represents a 13.02% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 621,149 shares of company stock worth $27,153,700. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Key nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLIGHT reported Q3 earnings of $0.16 per share, above analyst estimates of roughly $0.05–$0.06. Revenue was $73.76 million, topping the $68.16 million consensus and increasing 10.5% year over year. Management also cited record product gross margins and strong adjusted EBITDA. nLIGHT Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue guidance of $84 million–$90 million is well above analysts’ $74.7 million estimate, suggesting stronger near-term demand or execution than expected and providing the main forward-looking catalyst for the stock. nLIGHT results and guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: The company said ongoing supply constraints remain, which could limit its ability to meet demand or deliver on its outlook. nLIGHT Q3 results

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LASR shares. Northcoast Research raised shares of nLight from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on nLight in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.06.

About nLight

nLight, Inc (NASDAQ: LASR) develops and manufactures semiconductor and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, aerospace and defense, and other specialized applications. Its products are designed to deliver high optical power, precision and reliability for uses such as materials processing, metal cutting and welding, additive manufacturing, and directed-energy systems.

The company offers a range of laser components and systems, including high-power diode lasers, fiber lasers, and related optical and beam-delivery technologies.