nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Shares Up 21.6% – What’s Next?

Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) rose 21.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $67.50 and last traded at $71.3320. 391,842 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,459,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, nLight currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.50.

nLight Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -251.13 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.23.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at nLight

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 46,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $3,200,412.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,375,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,675,541.12. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 177,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,501,068.80. The trade was a 16.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 sold 391,038 shares of company stock worth $28,367,419 over the last quarter. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in nLight by 1,599.1% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of nLight by 155.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of nLight during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of nLight in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.