Militia Capital Partners LP Purchases New Position in nLight $LASR

Militia Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 21,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $795,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of nLight by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,684,000 after acquiring an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in nLight by 223.8% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 258,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,697,000 after buying an additional 178,699 shares during the period. Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in nLight during the 4th quarter worth approximately $584,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in nLight by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 73,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,767,000 after buying an additional 6,015 shares during the period. Finally, ANB Bank acquired a new stake in nLight during the 4th quarter worth approximately $310,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on LASR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. William Blair started coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total value of $278,259.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 169,915 shares in the company, valued at $12,386,803.50. This trade represents a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 16,089 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $1,200,239.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,185,039 shares in the company, valued at $163,003,909.40. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 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 worth $28,367,419 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

nLight Stock Down 4.8%

NASDAQ LASR opened at $66.26 on Wednesday. nLight has a 12-month low of $16.87 and a 12-month high of $86.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of -220.86 and a beta of 2.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $71.24 and its 200-day moving average is $57.05.

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

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.