nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Shares Down 6.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) fell 6.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $52.82 and last traded at $52.4320. Approximately 826,344 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 1,441,274 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LASR. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, July 17th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.94.

nLight Trading Down 7.8%

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.70 and its 200-day moving average is $64.81. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -207.38 and a beta of 2.31.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. nLight had a negative net margin of 4.02% and a negative return on equity of 3.19%. The company had revenue of $82.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. nLight’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other nLight news, CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total value of $73,310.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 97,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,613,461.79. This trade represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 16,089 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $1,200,239.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,185,039 shares in the company, valued at $163,003,909.40. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 sold 391,038 shares of company stock valued at $28,367,419 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of nLight by 1,599.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in nLight by 7,142.9% during 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in nLight by 155.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in nLight during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in nLight by 7,871.4% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

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.