American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 10,032 Shares of nLight $LASR

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has increased its stake in nLight by 11.1%, owning 100,238 shares worth approximately $779,000, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts are optimistic about nLight, with several firms raising their price targets significantly; Cantor Fitzgerald increased it from $14.00 to $27.50, indicating a strong bullish sentiment.
• nLight's stock has performed well, recently trading at $29.53, up 22.2% in revenue compared to the same quarter last year, despite reporting a negative return on equity and net margin.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,238 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,032 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.20% of nLight worth $779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LASR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of nLight by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of nLight by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 30,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 4,540 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 6,563.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of nLight by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 82,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 5,958 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of nLight from $14.00 to $27.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up previously from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on nLight from $12.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on nLight from $18.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $26.42.

nLight Stock Performance

LASR stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.92. The stock had a trading volume of 636,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 882,216. nLight has a 52 week low of $6.20 and a 52 week high of $30.05. The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 4.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.44 and a beta of 2.44.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.15. nLight had a negative net margin of 21.66% and a negative return on equity of 19.12%. The firm had revenue of $61.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.10) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. nLight has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 38,284 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.29, for a total value of $1,083,054.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 273,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,726,508.22. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 35,732 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.29, for a total value of $1,010,858.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,513,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,113,534.86. This represents a 1.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 382,144 shares of company stock worth $9,896,107 over the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About nLight

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.