Castleark Management LLC Takes $5.12 Million Position in nLight $LASR

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 89,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,123,000. Castleark Management LLC owned 0.16% of nLight at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in nLight in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,315,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of nLight by 377.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,057,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,327,000 after purchasing an additional 835,720 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of nLight by 537.8% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 631,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,711,000 after purchasing an additional 532,470 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of nLight by 119.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 755,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,393,000 after purchasing an additional 411,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of nLight by 2,027.6% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 342,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,831,000 after purchasing an additional 326,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of LASR stock opened at $67.78 on Tuesday. nLight has a 1 year low of $18.62 and a 1 year high of $86.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of -225.93 and a beta of 2.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.16.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.94.

Insider Activity

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 177,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,501,068.80. The trade was a 16.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 46,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $3,200,412.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,375,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,675,541.12. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 391,038 shares of company stock worth $28,367,419. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.