KBC Group NV Invests $3.94 Million in nLight $LASR

KBC Group NV bought a new stake in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 69,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,936,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of nLight during the fourth quarter worth about $41,315,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in nLight by 377.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,057,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,327,000 after purchasing an additional 835,720 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in nLight by 537.8% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 631,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,711,000 after purchasing an additional 532,470 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in nLight by 119.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 755,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,393,000 after purchasing an additional 411,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in nLight by 2,027.6% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 342,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,831,000 after purchasing an additional 326,002 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LASR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on nLight in a report on Friday, July 10th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their price objective on nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, nLight currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other nLight news, CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total value of $73,310.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 97,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,613,461.79. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total value of $278,259.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 169,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,386,803.50. This represents a 2.20% 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 have sold a total of 391,038 shares of company stock worth $28,367,419 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

nLight Trading Up 0.8%

LASR stock opened at $73.00 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.73. nLight has a 52 week low of $18.62 and a 52 week high of $86.95. The company has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -243.33 and a beta of 2.30.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued 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. 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) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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.