nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $69.0625.

Several research analysts have recently commented on LASR shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target 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. William Blair began coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 16,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $1,200,239.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,185,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,003,909.40. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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, CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total transaction of $73,310.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 97,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,613,461.79. The trade was a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 397,682 shares of company stock valued at $28,787,852 over the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in nLight during the first quarter valued at about $52,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in nLight by 7,142.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in nLight by 155.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in nLight during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in nLight by 7,871.4% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

nLight Stock Down 1.2%

LASR opened at $62.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -208.99 and a beta of 2.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.44 and its 200-day moving average is $56.03. nLight has a 52-week low of $16.87 and a 52-week high of $86.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. Equities analysts expect that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.