nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Sets New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $26.21 and last traded at $24.64, with a volume of 46186 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.47.

The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.15. The business had revenue of $61.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.24 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 19.01% and a negative net margin of 21.66%. nLight’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.10) EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LASR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of nLight from $12.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on nLight from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of nLight from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “speculative buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on nLight from $14.00 to $27.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, nLight presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $26.42.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the company’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 directly owned 166,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,931,298.44. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 75,000 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.33, for a total transaction of $1,149,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,342,927 shares in the company, valued at $20,587,070.91. The trade was a 5.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 201,915 shares of company stock worth $3,445,301. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 159,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 15,904 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of nLight by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 209,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 87,788 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in nLight by 140.4% during the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,207,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,383,000 after purchasing an additional 705,215 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in nLight by 345.1% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 48,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 37,803 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in nLight by 39.9% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 123,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after buying an additional 35,260 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

nLight Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.53 and a beta of 2.35. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.97.

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.