nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $58.3125.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LASR shares. Zacks Research cut nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th.

nLight Trading Down 7.2%

NASDAQ LASR opened at $65.76 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.40. nLight has a 12-month low of $6.20 and a 12-month high of $72.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -139.91 and a beta of 2.27.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $81.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.30) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at nLight

In other news, Director Raymond A. Link sold 6,644 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total transaction of $420,432.32. Following the sale, the director directly owned 77,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,883,444.16. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 19,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total value of $1,122,844.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,210,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,949,705.20. This trade represents a 0.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 162,528 shares of company stock valued at $9,223,597. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in nLight during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in nLight by 7,871.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in nLight by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during 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.