nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on nLight from $33.50 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on nLight from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded nLight to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.43.

nLight Price Performance

LASR opened at $45.61 on Friday. nLight has a 52-week low of $6.20 and a 52-week high of $48.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.92. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.83 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a quick ratio of 4.36, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total value of $2,399,844.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,126,855.68. This represents a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Raymond A. Link sold 12,560 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 102,576 shares in the company, valued at $3,624,010.08. This trade represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 141,262 shares of company stock valued at $5,101,910. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in nLight by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,989,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,166,000 after purchasing an additional 125,446 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC grew its position in shares of nLight by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,107,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,473,000 after acquiring an additional 34,348 shares in the last quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. grew its position in shares of nLight by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 1,344,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,468,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,215,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,925,000 after acquiring an additional 68,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of nLight by 377.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,057,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,327,000 after acquiring an additional 835,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.