James Nias Sells 940 Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total value of $73,310.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 97,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,613,461.79. This trade represents a 0.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

James Nias also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 20th, James Nias sold 415 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total value of $29,502.35.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, James Nias sold 1,618 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $110,800.64.
• On Monday, May 18th, James Nias sold 1,565 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total value of $110,833.30.
• On Friday, May 15th, James Nias sold 1,487 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $111,762.92.
• On Thursday, March 12th, James Nias sold 1,808 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.42, for a total value of $116,471.36.

nLight Trading Down 12.1%

LASR stock opened at $65.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of -219.49 and a beta of 2.31. nLight has a 1 year low of $16.87 and a 1 year high of $86.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $72.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in nLight by 1,599.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in nLight by 155.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in nLight in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in nLight in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LASR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. 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 increased their price objective on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, nLight currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.06.

Key Stories Impacting nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view nLight favorably, with the stock carrying an average rating of “Moderate Buy”, which may help support longer-term confidence in the company. nLight Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares on June 4 and 3,840 shares on June 3 under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting, which suggests routine selling rather than a change in outlook. SEC filing for CFO Joseph John Corso sale
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 8,901 shares on June 3 and 16,089 shares on June 4, also through a 10b5-1 plan for tax withholding on vested awards; the company says the trades were planned and do not necessarily signal fundamental weakness. SEC filing for CEO Scott H. Keeney sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer James Nias also sold 940 shares on June 3 under the same type of pre-arranged plan, adding to the near-term insider selling activity. SEC filing for CAO James Nias sale

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.