UBS Group AG Sells 37,091 Shares of nLight $LASR

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its nLight stake by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 37,091 shares and leaving it with 118,515 shares valued at about $4.45 million.
• Several nLight executives also sold stock recently, including CEO Scott H. Keeney and CAO James Nias, though the company says the transactions were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans and to cover tax withholding on equity awards.
• nLight beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.20 versus $0.08 expected and revenue of $80.18 million, up 55.2% year over year; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $69.06.

UBS Group AG decreased its holdings in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,515 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,091 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.23% of nLight worth $4,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of nLight by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,593 shares of the company's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of nLight by 622.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 77,201 shares of the company's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 66,518 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of nLight by 8.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,545 shares of the company's stock worth $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 5,828 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of nLight by 7.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 107,417 shares of the company's stock worth $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 7,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of nLight during the second quarter worth $600,000. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 41,373 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,912,659.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,334,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $164,323,878.40. This represents a 1.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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, CAO James Nias sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total transaction of $29,502.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 98,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,006,701.49. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 a total of 405,487 shares of company stock valued at $27,566,119 in the last ninety days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

nLight Stock Up 2.8%

LASR stock opened at $78.54 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $68.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.06. nLight has a 52-week low of $13.45 and a 52-week high of $86.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -261.79 and a beta of 2.34.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

More nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight’s recent quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.20 versus $0.08 expected and revenue of $80.18 million versus $72.14 million expected. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the view that business momentum remains strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Research coverage has stayed constructive, including reports highlighting nLight as a strong momentum stock and multiple bullish analyst ratings, which can help support investor confidence in LASR.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several executives, including CEO Scott H. Keeney, CFO Joseph John Corso, and CAO James Nias, sold shares recently. The filings say the trades were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans and to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, which makes them less concerning than discretionary selling.
• Negative Sentiment: Even though the insider sales appear routine, the volume of selling from top executives may still weigh on sentiment in the short term as some investors interpret it as profit-taking after a sharp run-up in the share price.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LASR shares. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of nLight from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, nLight presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.06.

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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