nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Shares Down 8.6% – Here’s Why

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR)’s share price was down 8.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $78.00 and last traded at $76.6020. Approximately 252,156 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,559,867 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LASR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, April 17th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.81.

nLight Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $66.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of -265.94 and a beta of 2.34.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. nLight’s revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that nLight will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 19,096 shares of nLight stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total value of $1,122,844.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,210,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,949,705.20. This trade represents a 0.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO James Nias sold 1,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.42, for a total value of $116,471.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 93,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,048,973.58. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 130,780 shares of company stock valued at $8,032,729. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Andar Capital Management HK Ltd purchased a new position in nLight in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,132,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of nLight during the 1st quarter valued at $3,936,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of nLight by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 95,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,445,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new stake in nLight during the 1st quarter worth $1,733,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in nLight by 40,932.9% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 114,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,551,000 after purchasing an additional 114,612 shares during the period. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.