nLIGHT’s (LASR) “Speculative Buy” Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR)‘s stock had its “speculative buy” rating reiterated by Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $17.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 40.03% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on nLIGHT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday.

nLIGHT Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ LASR opened at $12.14 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $12.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.29. nLIGHT has a one year low of $8.13 and a one year high of $15.91.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.02. nLIGHT had a negative net margin of 23.81% and a negative return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $51.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.08 million. Equities research analysts expect that nLIGHT will post -0.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLIGHT

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 14,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.26, for a total transaction of $172,927.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 146,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,797,328.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of nLIGHT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of nLIGHT in the third quarter worth about $205,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in nLIGHT by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 170,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,770,000 after purchasing an additional 30,135 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in nLIGHT by 12.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,357,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,513,000 after buying an additional 269,000 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 91.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 4,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of nLIGHT during the third quarter worth $123,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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.