Vanguard Group Inc. Has $28.50 Million Stock Holdings in nLight $LASR

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in nLight by 2.1% to a total of 3,667,332 shares, representing approximately 7.42% of the company, worth about $28.5 million.
• CEO Scott H. Keeney and CFO Joseph John Corso recently sold a combined total of 78,964 shares of nLight stock, indicating a decrease in their ownership positions by 3.08% and 12.29% respectively.
• Analysts have raised nLight’s price targets, with Benchmark setting a new target of $25 and Cantor Fitzgerald at $27.50, reflecting a generally positive outlook for the company's stock.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,667,332 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 74,163 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 7.42% of nLight worth $28,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in nLight by 140.4% during the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,207,580 shares of the company's stock worth $9,383,000 after purchasing an additional 705,215 shares during the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in nLight by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 2,652,115 shares of the company's stock worth $27,821,000 after purchasing an additional 314,375 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new stake in nLight during the fourth quarter worth $2,259,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 515.8% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 229,168 shares of the company's stock worth $1,781,000 after buying an additional 191,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of nLight in the 4th quarter valued at $1,976,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

nLight Trading Down 3.5%

NASDAQ LASR traded down $1.03 on Monday, reaching $28.80. The company had a trading volume of 895,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,354. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.32 and a beta of 2.44. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 4.41.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.15. The business had revenue of $61.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.24 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 19.12% and a negative net margin of 21.66%.nLight's quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.10) earnings per share. nLight has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 38,284 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.29, for a total transaction of $1,083,054.36. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 35,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.63, for a total value of $1,058,679.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,406,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,305,780.20. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 404,980 shares of company stock valued at $10,027,744. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark increased their price target on nLight from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "speculative buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Craig Hallum reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on nLight from $14.00 to $27.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on nLight from $12.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $26.42.

nLight 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.