nLight $LASR Holdings Boosted by Sei Investments Co.

Key Points

• Sei Investments increased its nLight stake by 61.2% during the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 291,788 shares valued at approximately $16.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.88% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $80.94, although one firm maintains a sell rating.
• nLight reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.20 versus an $0.08 estimate and revenue of $80.18 million, up 55.2% year over year. Insiders, however, sold $28.4 million of shares over the past three months, primarily to cover tax obligations.

Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 61.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 291,788 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 110,829 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.52% of nLight worth $16,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in nLight by 22.3% in the 4th 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. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in nLight by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in nLight by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $997,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in nLight by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LASR shares. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of nLight from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $80.94.

nLight Stock Performance

nLight stock opened at $59.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -196.89 and a beta of 2.30. nLight has a 1 year low of $19.40 and a 1 year high of $86.95. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $68.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.48.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The company had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other news, CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total transaction of $73,310.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 97,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,613,461.79. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total value of $278,259.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 169,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,386,803.50. This trade represents a 2.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 have sold 391,038 shares of company stock valued at $28,367,419 over the last three months. Company 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.

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