Engineers Gate Manager LP Reduces Holdings in nLight $LASR

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its nLight stake by 42.9% in the second quarter, selling 33,593 shares and retaining 44,650 shares valued at approximately $3.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.88% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with nLight receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $87.94, despite one sell rating.
• nLight exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.15 in EPS versus $0.14 expected and revenue of $82.59 million, up 33.8% year over year. However, insiders sold 612,245 shares worth approximately $26.8 million over the past 90 days.

Engineers Gate Manager LP decreased its position in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 42.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,650 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,593 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP owned approximately 0.08% of nLight worth $3,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC lifted its stake in nLight by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 103,978 shares of the company's stock worth $3,900,000 after purchasing an additional 19,435 shares during the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of nLight during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,023,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of nLight during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,740,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of nLight during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,847,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of nLight by 263.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 50,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,488,000 after buying an additional 36,329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LASR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on nLight in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, nLight presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.94.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LASR opened at $40.37 on Monday. nLight has a twelve month low of $27.22 and a twelve month high of $86.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of -161.48 and a beta of 2.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.02.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $82.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.58 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 2.83% and a negative net margin of 4.02%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that nLight will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other news, Director William Gossman sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total value of $665,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 100,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,447,134.36. This represents a 13.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Keeney sold 100,000 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.01, for a total transaction of $4,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,960,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,380,994.34. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 612,245 shares of company stock worth $26,828,615. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

nLight 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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