Hanseatic Management Services Inc. Invests $1.73 Million in nLight $LASR

Key Points

• Hanseatic Management Services opened a new position in nLight during the first quarter, buying 30,395 shares valued at about $1.73 million. The stake represented 1.7% of its portfolio.
• Several analysts remain constructive on nLight, with firms like Craig Hallum and Stifel Nicolaus raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus Buy rating with a $80.94 average target.
• Insiders have recently sold shares, including the CFO and CEO, while nLight also reported a strong quarter with 55.2% revenue growth and EPS of $0.20 versus $0.08 expected.

Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 30,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,733,000. nLight comprises 1.7% of Hanseatic Management Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. owned about 0.05% of nLight at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in nLight by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,989,758 shares of the company's stock worth $187,166,000 after purchasing an additional 125,446 shares in the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of nLight by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,684,000 after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company's stock worth $52,485,000 after purchasing an additional 341,948 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,234,696 shares of the company's stock worth $46,320,000 after purchasing an additional 20,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of nLight in the fourth quarter worth about $41,315,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on LASR. Craig Hallum increased their price target on nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on nLight in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.94.

Insider Activity at nLight

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 177,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,501,068.80. This represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 46,735 shares of nLight stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $3,200,412.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,375,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at $162,675,541.12. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 391,038 shares of company stock worth $28,367,419. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

nLight Trading Up 5.4%

LASR opened at $69.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.29 and a 200 day moving average of $61.60. nLight has a 12 month low of $18.51 and a 12 month high of $86.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -230.83 and a beta of 2.30.

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