D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Grows Stock Position in nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 34.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 424,856 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 109,075 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.88% of nLIGHT worth $4,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 47.4% during 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 during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of nLIGHT during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 3,596 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of nLIGHT during the fourth quarter valued at $102,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 17.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of the 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 approximately $10,358,963.59. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,184 shares of company stock worth $475,534. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

nLIGHT Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of LASR traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $14.49. 1,687,892 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 359,584. The stock has a market capitalization of $716.37 million, a PE ratio of -14.07 and a beta of 2.02. nLIGHT, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $14.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.02.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $51.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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.