nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Upgraded to Buy at Craig Hallum

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Craig Hallum from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $14.00 target price on the stock. Craig Hallum's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.18% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on LASR. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of nLIGHT from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on nLIGHT from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, nLIGHT currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $14.90.

nLIGHT Price Performance

NASDAQ:LASR traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.48. The stock had a trading volume of 693,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,696. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.94. nLIGHT has a one year low of $6.20 and a one year high of $14.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $617.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.12 and a beta of 2.02.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $51.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.77 million. nLIGHT had a negative net margin of 24.16% and a negative return on equity of 19.53%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that nLIGHT will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLIGHT

In other nLIGHT news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total transaction of $437,184.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,267,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,358,963.59. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLIGHT

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LASR. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in nLIGHT by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 2,907 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in nLIGHT during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in nLIGHT by 6,563.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4,791 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in nLIGHT by 3,951.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 3,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in nLIGHT during the fourth quarter valued at $102,000. 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.