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

Wall Street Zen cut shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on nLight from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, nLight has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.43.

nLight Trading Down 8.5%

nLight stock opened at $43.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.92 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 5.63. nLight has a 52 week low of $6.20 and a 52 week high of $48.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other news, Director Raymond A. Link sold 12,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.33, for a total transaction of $443,744.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 102,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,624,010.08. This trade represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total transaction of $2,399,844.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,126,855.68. The trade was a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 141,262 shares of company stock valued at $5,101,910 in the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in nLight by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,864,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,130,000 after acquiring an additional 747,958 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC raised its stake in nLight by 1.7% in the second quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,107,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,473,000 after purchasing an additional 34,348 shares in the last quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. lifted its position in nLight by 1.9% during the second quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 1,344,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,468,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in nLight by 6.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,215,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,925,000 after purchasing an additional 68,436 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in nLight by 377.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,057,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,327,000 after buying an additional 835,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

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. 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.