Portolan Capital Management LLC Buys New Position in nLight $LASR

Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 769,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,809,000. nLight makes up about 1.2% of Portolan Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new stake in nLight in the third quarter worth about $8,626,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of nLight by 161,736.7% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 79,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,350,000 after buying an additional 79,251 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of nLight by 48,328.6% during the 2nd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 13,532 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of nLight by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,107,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,473,000 after buying an additional 34,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bosun Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of nLight during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $599,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

nLight Price Performance

NASDAQ:LASR opened at $62.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -133.19 and a beta of 2.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.01. nLight has a 1 year low of $6.20 and a 1 year high of $69.52.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. nLight had a negative return on equity of 9.28% and a negative net margin of 8.98%.The firm had revenue of $81.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.30) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 32,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $1,997,528.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,252,781 shares in the company, valued at $139,582,310.76. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Raymond A. Link sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.79, for a total transaction of $627,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 92,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,847.04. This represents a 9.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 228,603 shares of company stock valued at $11,623,441 over the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, nLight has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.31.

Key nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst coverage is bullish — Robert W. Baird started coverage with an Outperform and $95 price target, Raymond James reiterated a strong‑buy with a $75 target, and Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $62.50. These upgrades support upside expectations from research desks. nLIGHT, Inc. (LASR)’s Strong Tech Stack Catches Analyst Attention
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed an EPS beat and strong revenue growth (revenue up ~71% Y/Y, EPS above estimates), which underpins the company’s operational momentum and supports the bullish analyst outlook. MarketBeat LASR coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Media attention and inclusion on ‘best day trading’ lists can increase short‑term volume and volatility but are not fundamental drivers of long‑term value. 11 best day trading stocks to buy now
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high (~84%), which can dampen share supply but also concentrate price moves when institutions rebalance. MarketBeat institutional holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: CEO Scott Keeney sold 19,096 shares (~$1.12M), Director Raymond Link sold multiple blocks (10,000; 8,760; 6,644 shares) and CAO James Nias sold 1,808 shares — these disclosed Form 4s likely pressured the stock by prompting profit‑taking or investor concern about insider timing. CEO Form 4 (SEC)
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary specifically points to insider sales as a reason for the intraday weakness in LASR, reinforcing the negative impact of those transactions on sentiment. Why nLIGHT (LASR) Stock Is Down Today

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.