nLight $LASR Shares Sold by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates Ltd. reduced its nLight stake by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 52,879 shares. It still held 875,471 shares worth about $32.8 million at the end of the period.
• Analyst sentiment on LASR is generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.81. Recent firms have largely issued buy or outperform ratings, though one analyst kept a sell rating.
• nLight reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.20 versus expectations of $0.08 and revenue of $80.18 million, up 55.2% year over year. Despite the beat, the company remains unprofitable on a net margin and ROE basis.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. cut its stake in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 875,471 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,879 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned approximately 1.72% of nLight worth $32,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 622.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 77,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 66,518 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 8.4% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 5,828 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 7.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 107,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 7,179 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of nLight in the second quarter valued at $600,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LASR shares. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised nLight from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.81.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other news, Director Raymond A. Link sold 10,000 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.79, for a total value of $627,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 92,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,847.04. This trade represents a 9.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO James Nias sold 3,249 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $201,308.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 95,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,930,005.72. The trade was a 3.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 130,780 shares of company stock worth $8,032,729 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of nLight stock opened at $80.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of -268.06 and a beta of 2.34. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $67.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.12. nLight has a 1 year low of $12.17 and a 1 year high of $86.95.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. The business 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 in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that nLight will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

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. 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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