Needham Investment Management LLC Grows Position in nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR)

Needham Investment Management LLC increased its position in nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,652,115 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 314,375 shares during the period. nLIGHT makes up 2.1% of Needham Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Needham Investment Management LLC owned approximately 5.48% of nLIGHT worth $27,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in nLIGHT by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 2,877,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,188,000 after buying an additional 144,283 shares during the period. Senvest Management LLC increased its stake in nLIGHT by 114.1% during the 4th quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 2,481,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,033,000 after buying an additional 1,322,637 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in nLIGHT by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 946,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,932,000 after buying an additional 162,903 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in nLIGHT during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,270,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in nLIGHT by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 478,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,021,000 after buying an additional 46,881 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LASR. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of nLIGHT from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of nLIGHT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, nLIGHT currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $14.90.

nLIGHT Stock Performance

Shares of LASR stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.67. 449,076 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 343,796. The firm has a market capitalization of $626.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.30 and a beta of 2.02. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $8.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.96. nLIGHT, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $14.73.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at nLIGHT

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total transaction of $437,184.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,267,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,358,963.59. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.70% 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.