nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney Sells 46,735 Shares

Key Points

• CEO Scott Keeney sold 46,735 shares of nLight stock at an average price of $68.48, totaling about $3.2 million. The filing said the sale was made under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to equity award vesting.
• nLight’s recent earnings beat expectations, reporting EPS of $0.20 versus the $0.08 consensus and revenue of $80.18 million versus $72.14 million expected. Revenue jumped 55.2% year over year, helping support the stock’s recent move higher.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on LASR, with multiple analysts reiterating buy or outperform ratings and price targets as high as $100. The consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average target price of $69.06.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) CEO Scott Keeney sold 46,735 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $3,200,412.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,375,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,675,541.12. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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.

nLight Trading Up 7.2%

Shares of LASR traded up $5.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $76.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,031,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,345,495. nLight has a 12 month low of $13.38 and a 12 month high of $86.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -254.76 and a beta of 2.34.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The company had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.14 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. nLight's quarterly revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of nLight by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in nLight by 622.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 77,201 shares of the company's stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 66,518 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in nLight by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,545 shares of the company's stock worth $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 5,828 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in nLight by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 107,417 shares of the company's stock worth $2,114,000 after acquiring an additional 7,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in nLight in the 2nd quarter worth about $600,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LASR shares. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on nLight in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair started coverage on nLight in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.06.

More nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight reported strong quarterly results earlier this month, with EPS of $0.20 versus estimates of $0.08 and revenue of $80.18 million versus expectations of $72.14 million. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the company’s growth story and helping support the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with several firms reiterating or raising buy ratings and price targets, including targets as high as $100. That suggests the market still sees room for more upside in LASR.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple insider sales were disclosed by CEO Scott H. Keeney, CFO Joseph John Corso, and CAO James Nias. The company said the trades were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans and to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards, which makes them less concerning than discretionary selling.
• Neutral Sentiment: The selling was sizable in dollar terms, especially from the CEO and CFO, so investors may still view it as a sentiment headwind even though the transactions appear routine.

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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