Needham & Company LLC Increases nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Price Target to $18.00

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price suggests a potential upside of 20.00% from the company's previous close.

Separately, Craig Hallum upgraded shares of nLIGHT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $15.70.

nLIGHT Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LASR traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $15.00. 1,545,210 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 375,063. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $9.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $741.59 million, a PE ratio of -14.56 and a beta of 2.02. nLIGHT has a 12 month low of $6.20 and a 12 month high of $16.21.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $51.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.77 million. nLIGHT had a negative net margin of 24.16% and a negative return on equity of 19.53%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that nLIGHT will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLIGHT

In other nLIGHT news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.33, for a total value of $1,149,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,342,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,587,070.91. This trade represents a 5.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 132,184 shares of company stock worth $1,625,284. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLIGHT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in nLIGHT by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,667,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,495,000 after acquiring an additional 74,163 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 3,034,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,575,000 after purchasing an additional 156,285 shares during the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 2,652,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,821,000 after purchasing an additional 314,375 shares during the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 114.1% in the 4th quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 2,481,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 1,319,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,256,000 after purchasing an additional 300,924 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

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.