Gabelli Funds LLC Cuts Stock Position in nLight $LASR

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its nLight stake by 37.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 20,000 shares and ending with 33,000 shares valued at about $1.24 million.
• nLight reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.20 versus $0.08 expected and revenue of $80.18 million versus $72.14 million expected, while revenue jumped 55.2% year over year.
• Despite routine insider sales tied to pre-arranged trading plans and tax withholding, analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.06.

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its stake in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 37.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 0.06% of nLight worth $1,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of nLight during the fourth quarter worth $266,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of nLight during the fourth quarter worth $375,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new stake in shares of nLight during the fourth quarter worth $335,000. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of nLight during the fourth quarter worth $229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight’s recent quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.20 versus $0.08 expected and revenue of $80.18 million versus $72.14 million expected. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the view that business momentum remains strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Research coverage has stayed constructive, including reports highlighting nLight as a strong momentum stock and multiple bullish analyst ratings, which can help support investor confidence in LASR.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several executives, including CEO Scott H. Keeney, CFO Joseph John Corso, and CAO James Nias, sold shares recently. The filings say the trades were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans and to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, which makes them less concerning than discretionary selling.
• Negative Sentiment: Even though the insider sales appear routine, the volume of selling from top executives may still weigh on sentiment in the short term as some investors interpret it as profit-taking after a sharp run-up in the share price.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of LASR opened at $78.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of -261.79 and a beta of 2.34. nLight has a 1 year low of $13.45 and a 1 year high of $86.95. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $68.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.06.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other news, CAO James Nias sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total transaction of $29,502.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 98,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,006,701.49. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 177,572 shares in the company, valued at $12,501,068.80. This represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 405,487 shares of company stock valued at $27,566,119. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LASR. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, May 8th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of nLight from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, nLight currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.06.

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. The company also provides laser sensors, including light detection and ranging technologies for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications; and fiber amplifiers, beam combination, and control systems for use in high-energy laser systems in directed energy applications.

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