Global Retirement Partners LLC Purchases 8,405 Shares of nLight $LASR

Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) by 505.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,069 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,405 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in nLight were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in nLight by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in nLight by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in nLight by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 17,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its holdings in nLight by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 25,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 177,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,501,068.80. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 46,735 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 405,487 shares of company stock valued at $27,566,119. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LASR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.06.

nLight Trading Down 6.4%

Shares of LASR opened at $74.12 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $69.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -247.06 and a beta of 2.34. nLight has a 1-year low of $14.91 and a 1-year high of $86.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.14 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. nLight’s revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

nLight 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.