nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Position Reduced by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 48.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,944 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,364 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in nLight were worth $171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in nLight by 47.4% in 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. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of nLight by 3,951.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,687 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 3,596 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of nLight by 6,563.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4,791 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of nLight during the fourth quarter worth about $102,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in nLight by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,864 shares of the company's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on LASR shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on nLight from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Craig Hallum raised nLight from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $15.70.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LASR traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,240,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 423,980. nLight has a 12 month low of $6.20 and a 12 month high of $19.44. The stock has a market cap of $889.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.92 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 5.81 and a quick ratio of 4.63. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $12.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.87.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $51.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.77 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 26.80% and a negative return on equity of 22.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.62, for a total value of $177,292.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,931,298.44. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 40,680 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.07, for a total transaction of $653,727.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,281,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,594,347.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 168,233 shares of company stock worth $2,787,492. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

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.