nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock: Insider Geoffrey Moore Sells 4,452 Shares

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Director Geoffrey Moore sold 4,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.57, for a total value of $153,905.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $2,809,331.05. This trade represents a 5.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Geoffrey Moore also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 15th, Geoffrey Moore sold 4,452 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total value of $171,179.40.

nLight Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of LASR stock traded up $1.12 on Monday, reaching $34.79. The company had a trading volume of 839,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,370,807. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of -139.16 and a beta of 2.37. nLight has a one year low of $28.05 and a one year high of $86.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.00 and its 200 day moving average is $59.51.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $82.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.58 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 4.02% and a negative return on equity of 2.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in nLight during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $339,687,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new position in nLight during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,374,000. Tema ETFs LLC lifted its position in shares of nLight by 84,128.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 394,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,444,000 after purchasing an additional 393,723 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of nLight by 2,995.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 406,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,309,000 after purchasing an additional 393,488 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of nLight in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,061,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LASR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

nLight Company Profile

nLight, Inc is a photonics company that develops and manufactures semiconductor and fiber lasers, optical amplifiers, and related laser components and systems. Its products are designed for applications requiring high power, precision, reliability, and advanced beam control.

The company serves customers in industrial, microfabrication, aerospace and defense, and other specialized markets. Its technologies are used in areas such as materials processing, manufacturing, directed-energy systems, and other applications that rely on high-performance laser sources.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, nLight operates internationally, with research, development, manufacturing, and sales activities serving customers across North America, Europe, and Asia.