nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price Down 4.1% on Insider Selling

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR)’s stock price dropped 4.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $18.20 and last traded at $18.16. Approximately 418,791 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 409,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.94.

Specifically, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 30,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.18, for a total transaction of $593,410.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,246,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,908,598.84. This trade represents a 2.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 4,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.01, for a total transaction of $77,237.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,277,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,284,837.77. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.62, for a total transaction of $177,292.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,931,298.44. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on LASR. Craig Hallum raised shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of nLight from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.70.

nLight Stock Down 3.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 4.63, a current ratio of 5.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $908.21 million, a PE ratio of -16.26 and a beta of 2.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.74.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $51.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.77 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 26.80% and a negative return on equity of 22.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of nLight

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of nLight by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 2,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of nLight by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in shares of nLight by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 24,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in nLight by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 90,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in nLight by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.