nLight’s (LASR) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum reissued their buy rating on shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $24.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $14.00.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on nLight from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $17.70.

nLight Price Performance

NASDAQ LASR opened at $19.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 5.81 and a quick ratio of 4.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $968.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.34 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.03. nLight has a 52-week low of $6.20 and a 52-week high of $19.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its 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. nLight had a negative net margin of 26.80% and a negative return on equity of 22.23%. The company had revenue of $51.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.62, for a total value of $177,292.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 166,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,931,298.44. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 6,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.13, for a total value of $120,825.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,240,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,725,446.86. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 168,233 shares of company stock worth $2,787,492. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in nLight by 47.4% during 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of nLight by 6,563.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 4,791 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of nLight by 3,951.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 3,596 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of nLight during the 4th quarter worth $102,000. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its stake in nLight by 110.6% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 7,754 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is 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.