Scott Keeney Sells 9,753 Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock

Key Points

• CEO Scott Keeney sold 9,753 nLight shares for approximately $396,850, reducing his direct holdings by 0.45% to 2.18 million shares. The sale was made to cover tax-withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards.
• nLight shares traded at $41.53, well below their 52-week high of $86.95. The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.15 EPS and $82.59 million in revenue, up 33.8% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.94, though ratings range from Buy to Sell. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) CEO Scott Keeney sold 9,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.69, for a total transaction of $396,849.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,175,286 shares in the company, valued at $88,512,387.34. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

nLight Stock Performance

LASR traded up $1.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,549,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,755. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.78 and a 200-day moving average of $64.43. nLight has a one year low of $27.22 and a one year high of $86.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of -166.12 and a beta of 2.30.

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

Institutional Trading of nLight

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in nLight by 1,599.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of nLight by 155.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of nLight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 7,871.4% during 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 in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on LASR. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their target price on nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.94.

About nLight

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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