BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stake in nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 65.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,688 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,367 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.13% of nLIGHT worth $647,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LASR. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of nLIGHT in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of nLIGHT by 3,951.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,687 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 3,596 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of nLIGHT during the fourth quarter worth $102,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,864 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares in 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 53,511 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,267,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,358,963.59. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 132,184 shares of company stock valued at $1,625,284 over the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

nLIGHT Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of LASR stock traded down $0.06 on Thursday, reaching $15.57. 764,193 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 369,470. The company has a market capitalization of $769.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.12 and a beta of 2.02. The business's 50 day moving average price is $9.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.09. nLIGHT, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $16.21.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 19.53% and a negative net margin of 24.16%. The business had revenue of $51.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on nLIGHT from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Craig Hallum upgraded nLIGHT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $15.70.

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.