Bank of America Corp DE Acquires New Stake in nLight $LASR

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 128,379 nLight shares worth approximately $8.9 million during the second quarter, giving it about a 0.22% 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 adjusted earnings of $0.15 per share, exceeding analyst estimates. However, the company remained unprofitable on a net-margin basis.
• LASR shares opened at $40.33, well below the 12-month high of $86.95, while analysts maintained a generally positive view with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an $87.94 average price target. Recent insider sales included significant transactions by the CEO and a director.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 128,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,938,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.22% of nLight at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of nLight in the 2nd quarter worth $339,687,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. purchased a new position in nLight in the second quarter worth $65,374,000. Tema ETFs LLC grew its position in nLight by 84,128.8% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 394,191 shares of the company's stock worth $27,444,000 after acquiring an additional 393,723 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in nLight in the second quarter valued at $27,061,000. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in nLight in the second quarter valued at $15,702,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

nLight Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of LASR opened at $40.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -161.32 and a beta of 2.30. nLight has a twelve month low of $27.79 and a twelve month high of $86.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.45.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $82.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that nLight will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on LASR shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of nLight from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.94.

Insider Activity at nLight

In other news, Director William Gossman sold 15,000 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total value of $665,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 100,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,447,134.36. This trade represents a 13.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 181,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total value of $8,520,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,185,039 shares in the company, valued at $102,434,628.32. This trade represents a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 616,697 shares of company stock worth $26,999,794 over the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

nLight Company Profile

nLight, Inc is a photonics company that develops and manufactures high-power semiconductor and fiber lasers, as well as related components and laser systems. Its products are designed for applications that require precise, high-intensity light and are used across industrial, microfabrication, aerospace and defense markets.

The company's product portfolio includes semiconductor laser diodes, fiber lasers, and advanced laser systems. nLight also develops components and technologies intended to improve laser performance, reliability, beam quality and control.

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