nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $14.68, but opened at $11.00. nLIGHT shares last traded at $12.06, with a volume of 216,006 shares changing hands.

Specifically, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.73, for a total transaction of $205,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,347,781 shares in the company, valued at $18,505,033.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LASR. Benchmark reissued a “speculative buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of nLIGHT in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of nLIGHT in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $15.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of nLIGHT from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

nLIGHT Stock Down 23.5 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $11.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.70.

Institutional Trading of nLIGHT

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 79.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 21,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 9,635 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in nLIGHT by 112.0% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 65,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 34,844 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in nLIGHT by 15.0% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 9.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 13,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,065,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,855,000 after acquiring an additional 23,697 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.