nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Lifted to Buy by Northcoast Research

Key Points

• Northcoast Research upgraded nLight to “buy” from “hold” and set a $75 price target, implying 88.06% upside from the prior close. Analysts overall rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $86.50.
• nLight reported quarterly EPS of $0.15, exceeding the $0.14 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $82.59 million—up 33.8% year over year and above expectations.
• The stock opened at $39.88, well below its 52-week high of $86.95. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company, while insiders sold approximately $27 million of shares over the past 90 days.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Northcoast Research from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $75.00 price target on the stock. Northcoast Research's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 88.06% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on LASR. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on nLight in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research lowered nLight from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Craig Hallum increased their price target on nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.50.

nLight Price Performance

LASR opened at $39.88 on Wednesday. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $28.05 and a fifty-two week high of $86.95. The company's 50 day moving average price is $46.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -159.52 and a beta of 2.37.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. nLight had a negative net margin of 4.02% and a negative return on equity of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $82.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that nLight will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other news, CFO Joseph Corso sold 4,191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.69, for a total value of $170,531.79. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 165,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,743,309.56. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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, Director Geoffrey Moore sold 4,452 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total value of $171,179.40. Following the sale, the director owned 85,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,295,818.65. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 616,697 shares of company stock worth $26,999,794. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in nLight during the second quarter worth $339,687,000. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,684,000 after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares during the period. AWM Investment Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of nLight during the second quarter valued at about $65,374,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of nLight by 2,995.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 406,624 shares of the company's stock worth $28,309,000 after purchasing an additional 393,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tema ETFs LLC grew its stake in shares of nLight by 84,128.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 394,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,444,000 after buying an additional 393,723 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

About nLight

nLight, Inc is a photonics company that develops and manufactures semiconductor and fiber lasers, optical amplifiers, and related laser components and systems. Its products are designed for applications requiring high power, precision, reliability, and advanced beam control.

The company serves customers in industrial, microfabrication, aerospace and defense, and other specialized markets. Its technologies are used in areas such as materials processing, manufacturing, directed-energy systems, and other applications that rely on high-performance laser sources.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, nLight operates internationally, with research, development, manufacturing, and sales activities serving customers across North America, Europe, and Asia.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.