nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) had its target price boosted by Needham & Company LLC from $48.00 to $70.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 24.58% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about 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. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on nLight in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on nLight from $33.50 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.07.

nLight Stock Down 10.7%

Shares of LASR stock opened at $56.19 on Friday. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $62.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of -119.55 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.54.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03. nLight had a negative return on equity of 9.40% and a negative net margin of 8.98%.The firm had revenue of $81.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.30) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total value of $2,399,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares in the company, valued at $7,126,855.68. The trade was a 25.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total value of $1,190,867.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,285,020 shares in the company, valued at $85,711,100.20. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 127,502 shares of company stock worth $4,622,166. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in nLight by 155.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in nLight in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in nLight in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target from $48 to $70 and assigned a “buy” rating, signaling confidence in continued revenue growth and implying ~24.6% upside from the current price. Needham Price Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target to $62.50 and moved to “overweight,” providing additional analyst support for the stock after the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Price Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results topped expectations: EPS $0.14 vs. $0.11 consensus and revenue $81.2M vs. $76.7M; revenue rose ~71% year‑over‑year. Management also set Q1 revenue guidance ($70–$76M) above consensus, which supports near‑term growth expectations. Q4 Earnings & Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional interest: Bleakley Financial reported a new stake in nLight, indicating some institutional accumulation. Bleakley Stake
• Positive Sentiment: Management scheduled investor events and conferences in early March, increasing chances for deeper analyst/investor engagement and potentially clearer forward commentary. Investor Events
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options volume was reported, suggesting heightened speculative or hedging activity that can amplify intraday moves but is not itself a directional signal. Options Volume Note
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat and raised guidance, the stock dropped as investors appeared to take profits after recent gains and reacted to remaining profitability concerns (negative net margin and ROE noted in the report). Several outlets reported the stock “tumbled” after the release. Stock Reaction Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy intraday volume and elevated volatility accompanied the move lower, which can exacerbate declines and indicates short‑term positioning changes rather than a change in underlying fundamentals. Market Reaction & Volume

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.