Militia Capital Partners LP Makes New $795,000 Investment in nLight $LASR

Key Points

• Militia Capital Partners LP opened a new position in nLight during the fourth quarter, buying 21,200 shares worth about $795,000.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on LASR, with multiple firms raising price targets and an overall Moderate Buy consensus; the average price target is $69.06.
• nLight recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $0.20 EPS on $80.18 million in revenue, though the stock was noted as down 4.8% in Wednesday trading and insiders have also been selling shares.

Militia Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 21,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $795,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in nLight by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in nLight by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,745 shares of the company's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in nLight by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 17,988 shares of the company's stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. grew its holdings in nLight by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 25,226 shares of the company's stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LASR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. 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 research note on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, nLight currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.06.

nLight Trading Down 4.8%

Shares of NASDAQ LASR opened at $66.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of -220.86 and a beta of 2.31. nLight has a 1 year low of $16.87 and a 1 year high of $86.95. The firm's 50-day moving average is $71.24 and its 200-day moving average is $57.05.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 46,735 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,375,519 shares in the company, valued at $162,675,541.12. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 177,572 shares in the company, valued at $12,501,068.80. This represents a 16.65% 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 ninety days. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LASR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.