nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $41.57, but opened at $44.83. nLight shares last traded at $43.6110, with a volume of 426,827 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LASR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $33.50 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen raised nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on nLight from $26.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of nLight from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.57.

nLight Trading Up 4.0%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.56. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of -49.15 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 4.36.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $1,190,867.48. Following the completion of 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 trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total transaction of $2,399,844.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,126,855.68. The trade was a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 141,262 shares of company stock valued at $5,101,910. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in nLight by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 3,881 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of nLight by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 319,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,461,000 after buying an additional 14,724 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 1.0% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 298,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,844,000 after buying an additional 3,093 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in nLight by 6,151.0% during the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 41,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 41,150 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in nLight by 90.5% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 12,278 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% 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.