nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CFO Sells $146,210.76 in Stock

Key Points

• nLight CFO Joseph Corso sold 3,524 shares for $146,210.76, reducing his direct holdings by 2.13% to 162,200 shares. The transaction was conducted under a Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards.
• nLight recently reported quarterly revenue of $82.59 million, up 33.8% year over year, and earnings of $0.15 per share, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Despite shares trading near $41.53, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $87.94; institutional investors own 83.88% of the stock.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) CFO Joseph Corso sold 3,524 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $146,210.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,729,678. The trade was a 2.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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.

Joseph John Corso also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, September 3rd, Joseph Corso sold 4,191 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.69, for a total transaction of $170,531.79.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of LASR traded up $1.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,549,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,755. The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -166.12 and a beta of 2.30. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $58.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.43. nLight has a 1-year low of $27.22 and a 1-year high of $86.95.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on nLight in a report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research downgraded nLight from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, nLight currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of nLight by 10.4% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,625 shares of the company's stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in nLight in the second quarter valued at $131,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in nLight in the second quarter valued at $357,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in nLight during the 2nd quarter worth $223,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in nLight by 7,636.1% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,262,345 shares of the company's stock worth $296,744,000 after purchasing an additional 4,207,248 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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