4,879,159 Shares in nLight $LASR Bought by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 4.88 million nLight shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $339.7 million and representing an 8.65% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 83.88% of the company.
• nLight reported quarterly revenue of $82.59 million, up 33.8% year over year, and earnings of $0.15 per share, narrowly exceeding analyst expectations. Analysts project a full-year loss of $0.19 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $87.94, although the stock opened at $43.30 and has declined 1.8%.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,879,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $339,687,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 8.65% of nLight as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in nLight by 1,599.1% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in nLight by 7,142.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in nLight by 155.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in nLight during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in nLight by 7,871.4% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at nLight

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 181,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total transaction of $8,520,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,185,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $102,434,628.32. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 value of $73,310.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 97,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,613,461.79. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 479,831 shares of company stock valued at $25,378,732. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LASR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.94.

nLight Stock Down 1.8%

nLight stock opened at $43.30 on Wednesday. nLight has a twelve month low of $27.22 and a twelve month high of $86.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.85 and a 200-day moving average of $65.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of -173.20 and a beta of 2.31.

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

nLight 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. 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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