AWM Investment Company Inc. Acquires 90,040 Shares of nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR)

AWM Investment Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,018,993 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 90,040 shares during the quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. owned about 2.10% of nLIGHT worth $10,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of nLIGHT by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 82,990 shares of the company's stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 5,958 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in nLIGHT by 39.9% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 123,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 35,260 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in shares of nLIGHT during the fourth quarter valued at $2,259,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in nLIGHT by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,112 shares of the company's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 6,098 shares during the period. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 2,652,115 shares of the company's stock worth $27,821,000 after purchasing an additional 314,375 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of nLIGHT 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 owns 1,267,927 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,963.59. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 57,184 shares of company stock worth $475,534 in the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Craig Hallum raised shares of nLIGHT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $14.90.

nLIGHT Price Performance

nLIGHT stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $14.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,687,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 360,568. nLIGHT, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $14.82. The firm's fifty day moving average is $8.92 and its 200-day moving average is $9.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $716.37 million, a P/E ratio of -14.07 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.13. nLIGHT had a negative net margin of 24.16% and a negative return on equity of 19.53%. The business had revenue of $51.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. nLIGHT's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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.