nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Friday, Zacks.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $35.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Investment Research's price target indicates a potential upside of 18.32% from the company's previous close.
According to Zacks, "nLIGHT Inc. provides high-power semiconductor and fiber laser. It sells its products primarily in industrial, microfabrication, aerospace and defense markets. nLIGHT Inc. is based in Vancouver, Washington. "
A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of nLIGHT in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of nLIGHT in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. TheStreet cut shares of nLIGHT from a "c-" rating to a "d" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of nLIGHT from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of nLIGHT from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.57.
Shares of LASR opened at $29.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 5.52 and a quick ratio of 4.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.46. nLIGHT has a 1-year low of $9.03 and a 1-year high of $33.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.08 and a beta of 2.54.
nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks' consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.11. nLIGHT had a negative net margin of 14.17% and a negative return on equity of 9.17%. The business had revenue of $61.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $57.34 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.01 EPS. The company's revenue was up 40.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that nLIGHT will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.68, for a total transaction of $113,400.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 24,554 shares of company stock valued at $577,814 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in nLIGHT by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 926,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,616,000 after buying an additional 40,945 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in nLIGHT by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 780,846 shares of the company's stock worth $18,334,000 after acquiring an additional 8,100 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new position in nLIGHT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $240,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 42.4% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 460,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,237,000 after purchasing an additional 137,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 20.3% in the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 33,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the last quarter. 81.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
nLIGHT Company Profile
nLIGHT, Inc designs, develops, and manufactures semiconductor and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, and aerospace and defense applications. The company operates in two segments, Laser Products and Advanced Development. It also produces optical fiber products. The company markets and sells its products to original equipment manufacturers primarily through direct sales force in the United States, China, South Korea, and Finland, as well as through various independent sales representatives and distributors in Asia and Europe.
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