Apis Capital Advisors LLC Has $9.41 Million Stock Holdings in nLight $LASR

Key Points

• Apis Capital Advisors dramatically increased its nLight stake by 736% in Q4, buying 220,800 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 250,800 shares worth about $9.41 million.
• nLight has drawn generally bullish analyst attention, with multiple firms raising ratings or price targets; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $69.06.
• The company recently beat expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $0.20 EPS versus $0.08 expected and $80.18 million in revenue, though insiders have also sold shares recently and the stock was down 2.6% in Thursday trading.

Apis Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 736.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 250,800 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 220,800 shares during the quarter. nLight comprises about 1.6% of Apis Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Apis Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.49% of nLight worth $9,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 1,599.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in nLight by 155.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in nLight in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in nLight in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in nLight by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LASR. Wall Street Zen raised shares of nLight from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. William Blair began coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, nLight presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.06.

nLight Trading Down 2.6%

LASR stock opened at $64.55 on Thursday. nLight has a 1-year low of $16.87 and a 1-year high of $86.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.16 and a beta of 2.31. The company's 50 day moving average is $71.37 and its 200 day moving average is $57.26.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other nLight news, CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total value of $73,310.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 97,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,613,461.79. This trade represents a 0.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 16,089 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $1,200,239.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,185,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,003,909.40. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders sold 391,038 shares of company stock valued at $28,367,419. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

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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