Northern Trust Corp Grows Stock Holdings in nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR)

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 478,646 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 46,881 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.99% of nLIGHT worth $5,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LASR. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 2,877,759 shares of the company's stock worth $30,188,000 after purchasing an additional 144,283 shares during the period. Senvest Management LLC grew its position in shares of nLIGHT by 114.1% during the 4th quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 2,481,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322,637 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in nLIGHT by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 946,849 shares of the company's stock worth $9,932,000 after acquiring an additional 162,903 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in nLIGHT in the fourth quarter worth $5,270,000. Finally, First Washington CORP boosted its position in nLIGHT by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. First Washington CORP now owns 397,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,169,000 after buying an additional 71,414 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total value of $437,184.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,267,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,358,963.59. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 57,184 shares of company stock valued at $475,534 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Craig Hallum upgraded shares of nLIGHT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $14.90.

nLIGHT Stock Up 6.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:LASR traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.48. 1,298,978 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 364,322. The stock has a market capitalization of $765.32 million, a PE ratio of -15.03 and a beta of 2.02. The business's 50 day moving average is $9.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.02. nLIGHT, Inc. has a one year low of $6.20 and a one year high of $15.70.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.13. nLIGHT had a negative net margin of 24.16% and a negative return on equity of 19.53%. The company had revenue of $51.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. nLIGHT's revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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.