Atika Capital Management LLC Makes New $3.76 Million Investment in nLight $LASR

Atika Capital Management LLC bought a new position in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 66,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,763,000. Atika Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of nLight at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC raised its stake in shares of nLight by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 103,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,900,000 after buying an additional 19,435 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in nLight by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,989,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,166,000 after acquiring an additional 125,446 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in nLight during the fourth quarter worth $788,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in nLight during the fourth quarter valued at $776,000. Finally, Laurel Oak Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in nLight during the first quarter valued at $2,138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

nLight Price Performance

NASDAQ:LASR opened at $73.00 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -243.33 and a beta of 2.30. nLight has a 1-year low of $18.62 and a 1-year high of $86.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total transaction of $278,259.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 169,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,386,803.50. This trade represents a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total transaction of $73,310.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 97,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,613,461.79. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 391,038 shares of company stock valued at $28,367,419. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on nLight in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, nLight currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.94.

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.