nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Coverage Initiated at Robert W. Baird

Equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price points to a potential upside of 51.85% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on nLight in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.31.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of LASR stock opened at $62.56 on Wednesday. nLight has a 1 year low of $6.20 and a 1 year high of $69.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of -133.11 and a beta of 2.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.54.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03. nLight had a negative return on equity of 9.28% and a negative net margin of 8.98%.The company had revenue of $81.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.71 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.30) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at nLight

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was 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 directly owned 196,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,126,855.68. This trade represents a 25.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of nLight stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,285,020 shares in the company, valued at $85,711,100.20. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in nLight by 7,871.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of nLight by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,485,000 after acquiring an additional 341,948 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of nLight during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of nLight by 176.5% in the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 30,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 19,544 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.