Royce & Associates LP Purchases 156,285 Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in nLight by 5.4%, purchasing 156,285 shares, bringing its total ownership to roughly 3,034,044 shares valued at about $23.6 million.
• Major institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Russell Investments Group Ltd., have dramatically increased their stakes in nLight, reflecting a growing interest from institutional entities.
• nLight recently reported a quarterly earnings increase with revenue up 16.2% year-over-year, and analysts have generally rated the stock with a "buy" consensus and set a target price averaging $17.70.

Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,034,044 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 156,285 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 6.14% of nLight worth $23,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LASR. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in nLight by 6,563.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 4,791 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in nLight by 3,951.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 3,596 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of nLight during the fourth quarter valued at $102,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of nLight by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,864 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in nLight by 56.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,042 shares of the company's stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 5,049 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.62, for a total value of $177,292.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 166,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,931,298.44. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 33,682 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total value of $657,809.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,206,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,563,726.20. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 201,915 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,301. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of nLight stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.39. 298,598 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 575,463. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 5.81 and a quick ratio of 4.63. nLight has a 52 week low of $6.20 and a 52 week high of $20.36. The firm has a market cap of $958.64 million, a P/E ratio of -17.16 and a beta of 2.33.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $51.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.77 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 22.23% and a negative net margin of 26.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. Research analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LASR has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on nLight from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 target price (up previously from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.70.

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.