nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on nLight from $26.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on nLight from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, nLight has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.29.

nLight Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LASR opened at $38.37 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.63 and a 200-day moving average of $28.54. The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.60 and a beta of 2.34. nLight has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $39.99.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 15,371 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.66, for a total value of $548,129.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,285,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,483,813.20. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO James Nias sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $36,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 99,512 shares in the company, valued at $2,985,360. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,514 shares of company stock worth $3,911,043. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in nLight by 147.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in nLight by 1,599.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in nLight during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in nLight in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in nLight by 162.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

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. The company also provides laser sensors, including light detection and ranging technologies for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications; and fiber amplifiers, beam combination, and control systems for use in high-energy laser systems in directed energy applications.