BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 24,367 Shares of nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) by 65.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,688 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,367 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.13% of nLIGHT worth $647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Senvest Management LLC raised its stake in nLIGHT by 114.1% in the fourth quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 2,481,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after buying an additional 1,322,637 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in nLIGHT during the fourth quarter worth about $5,270,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in nLIGHT during the fourth quarter worth about $1,976,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in nLIGHT by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 946,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,932,000 after acquiring an additional 162,903 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in nLIGHT by 268.1% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 214,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 156,043 shares during the period. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of nLIGHT stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total value of $437,184.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,267,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,963.59. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,184 shares of company stock valued at $475,534. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Craig Hallum raised nLIGHT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, nLIGHT presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $14.90.

nLIGHT Stock Performance

Shares of nLIGHT stock opened at $14.49 on Friday. nLIGHT, Inc. has a one year low of $6.20 and a one year high of $14.82. The company has a market cap of $716.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.07 and a beta of 2.02. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $8.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.02.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.13. nLIGHT had a negative return on equity of 19.53% and a negative net margin of 24.16%. The company had revenue of $51.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.