nLight $LASR Shares Sold by Stephens Investment Management Group LLC

Key Points

• Stephens Investment Management Group LLC cut its nLight stake by 34.8% in the first quarter, selling 264,398 shares and ending with 496,331 shares worth about $28.3 million.
• nLight posted a strong quarterly beat, reporting EPS of $0.20 versus estimates of $0.08 and revenue of $80.18 million versus $72.14 million expected, with revenue up 55.2% year over year.
• Insider selling has been notable: CEO Scott H. Keeney and CFO Joseph John Corso both sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans, and analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $75.50.

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC reduced its position in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 34.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 496,331 shares of the company's stock after selling 264,398 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned 0.89% of nLight worth $28,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in nLight by 1,599.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of nLight by 155.9% during the fourth 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. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of nLight in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of nLight in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company's stock.

nLight Price Performance

NASDAQ:LASR opened at $63.25 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $70.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.69. nLight has a 1-year low of $17.84 and a 1-year high of $86.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -210.83 and a beta of 2.30.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. nLight's quarterly revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,375,519 shares in the company, valued at $162,675,541.12. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,501,068.80. The trade was a 16.65% 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. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of nLight from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, April 24th. William Blair began coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.50.

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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