nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on nLight in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight 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, nLight presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.31.

nLight Stock Performance

LASR opened at $62.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.42 and a 200-day moving average of $37.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -133.11 and a beta of 2.27. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $69.52.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.98% and a negative return on equity of 9.28%. The business had revenue of $81.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.71 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. nLight’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,285,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,711,100.20. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,126,855.68. This represents a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 1,599.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in nLight by 7,142.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of nLight by 155.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of nLight during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of nLight in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

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.