Arizona State Retirement System Purchases New Stake in nLight $LASR

Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 13,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harvey Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 34,348 shares in the last quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 68,436 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in nLight by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,034,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,357,000 after acquiring an additional 124,447 shares during the period. Finally, AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in nLight during the 2nd quarter valued at $11,810,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other news, CAO James Nias sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,985,360. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $1,190,867.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,285,020 shares in the company, valued at $85,711,100.20. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 128,702 shares of company stock valued at $4,658,166. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LASR. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on nLight in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on nLight from $33.50 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, nLight has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.00.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of LASR stock opened at $52.92 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $55.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -60.14 and a beta of 2.33. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.58.

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.