D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $4.46 Million Position in nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 34.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 424,856 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 109,075 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.88% of nLIGHT worth $4,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Senvest Management LLC raised its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 114.1% during the 4th quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 2,481,677 shares of the company's stock worth $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322,637 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of nLIGHT in the fourth quarter worth about $5,270,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of nLIGHT during the 4th quarter worth about $1,976,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 946,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,932,000 after acquiring an additional 162,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 268.1% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 214,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,247,000 after acquiring an additional 156,043 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total transaction of $437,184.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,267,927 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,963.59. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on LASR shares. Craig Hallum upgraded nLIGHT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of nLIGHT from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.90.

nLIGHT Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of LASR stock traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $13.45. 827,153 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 349,974. nLIGHT, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $14.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $664.95 million, a P/E ratio of -13.06 and a beta of 2.02. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.97.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 company earned ($0.17) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.