KBC Group NV Purchases New Position in nLight $LASR

Key Points

• KBC Group NV bought a new position in nLight during the first quarter, acquiring 69,034 shares valued at about $3.94 million.
• nLight reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter ended May 7, posting $0.20 EPS versus the $0.08 estimate and revenue of $80.18 million, up 55.2% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain largely positive on the stock, with several price target increases and a current consensus rating of Buy with an average target price of $80.94.

KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 69,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,936,000. KBC Group NV owned about 0.12% of nLight as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of nLight in the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in nLight by 155.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in nLight in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in nLight by 7,871.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of nLight stock opened at $73.00 on Friday. nLight has a 1 year low of $18.62 and a 1 year high of $86.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -243.33 and a beta of 2.30. The company's fifty day moving average is $69.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.73.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total value of $2,497,510.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 177,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,501,068.80. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $3,200,412.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,375,519 shares in the company, valued at $162,675,541.12. This trade represents 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. Insiders sold a total of 391,038 shares of company stock worth $28,367,419 in the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LASR shares. Zacks Research raised nLight from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on nLight in a research report on Friday, July 10th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.94.

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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