Van ECK Associates Corp Has $64.72 Million Position in nLight $LASR

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates reduced its nLight stake by 11.3% in the second quarter, selling 118,716 shares but retaining 929,609 shares valued at $64.72 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.88% of LASR.
• nLight reported quarterly revenue of $82.59 million, up 33.8% year over year and above expectations, while EPS of $0.15 also exceeded estimates. Despite the improvement, the company posted a negative net margin and analysts expect a full-year loss.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and $87.94 target price, although some firms recently downgraded the stock to “hold” or “sell.” Shares opened at $42.94, well below the $86.95 one-year high.

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its position in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 11.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 929,609 shares of the company's stock after selling 118,716 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 1.61% of nLight worth $64,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in nLight by 1,599.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of nLight by 155.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of nLight in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 7,871.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,840 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total value of $299,481.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,732 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,549,358.68. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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, CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total value of $73,310.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 97,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,613,461.79. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 397,087 shares of company stock valued at $19,090,182 over the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on LASR shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of nLight from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.94.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of LASR opened at $42.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of -171.76 and a beta of 2.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.60 and a 200-day moving average of $64.87. nLight has a one year low of $27.22 and a one year high of $86.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. nLight had a negative net margin of 4.02% and a negative return on equity of 2.83%. The company had revenue of $82.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $78.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. nLight's quarterly revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that nLight will post -0.19 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. 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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