nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $48.66 and last traded at $46.67, with a volume of 201891 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LASR shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research cut nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on nLight in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on nLight in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.43.

nLight Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.83 and a beta of 2.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 5.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other news, CAO James Nias sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $36,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 99,512 shares in the company, valued at $2,985,360. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,126,855.68. This trade represents a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 141,262 shares of company stock valued at $5,101,910. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of nLight by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 622.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 77,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 66,518 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 147.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in nLight by 191.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 5,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in nLight during the second quarter worth about $11,810,000. Hedge funds and other 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.