nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on nLight, with eight buy ratings, one strong buy, one hold and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $87.94.
• nLight exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.15 versus $0.14 expected and revenue of $82.59 million versus $78.58 million; revenue increased 33.8% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company, while insiders have sold 612,245 shares worth $26.8 million over the past 90 days, including sales by the CEO and CFO under pre-arranged trading plans.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.9375.

LASR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th.

nLight Trading Up 2.7%

LASR stock opened at $40.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of -161.48 and a beta of 2.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.95. nLight has a 12-month low of $27.22 and a 12-month high of $86.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $82.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.58 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 2.83% and a negative net margin of 4.02%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other nLight news, CEO Scott Keeney sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.01, for a total value of $4,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,960,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,380,994.34. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Joseph Corso sold 3,524 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $146,210.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 162,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,729,678. This represents a 2.13% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 612,245 shares of company stock valued at $26,828,615 in the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in nLight in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $339,687,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of nLight by 7,636.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,262,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,744,000 after purchasing an additional 4,207,248 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of nLight by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,485,000 after purchasing an additional 341,948 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of nLight by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,234,696 shares of the company's stock worth $46,320,000 after purchasing an additional 20,043 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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