nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Sells 19,096 Shares

Key Points

• nLight CEO Scott Keeney sold 19,096 shares on March 9 at an average price of $58.80 for total proceeds of $1,122,844.80, leaving him with 2,210,029 shares (a 0.86% reduction) valued at about $129.95 million.
• In the most recent quarter nLight reported EPS of $0.14 (beating the $0.11 consensus) and revenue of $81.19 million, up 71.3% year-over-year, but the firm still shows negative return on equity and net margin and analysts expect -1.1 EPS for the current year.
• Shares traded up 4.2% to $66.49 (market cap ≈ $3.71B) amid 83.88% institutional ownership, and analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a "Moderate Buy" average rating and price targets ranging up to $75 from some firms.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) CEO Scott Keeney sold 19,096 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total value of $1,122,844.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,210,029 shares in the company, valued at $129,949,705.20. The trade was a 0.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

nLight Trading Up 4.2%

LASR traded up $2.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,634,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,111,280. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -141.47 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.61. nLight has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $69.52.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03. nLight had a negative return on equity of 9.28% and a negative net margin of 8.98%.The company had revenue of $81.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.30) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of nLight in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,315,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in nLight by 377.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,057,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,327,000 after acquiring an additional 835,720 shares in the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in nLight in the 3rd quarter worth $22,809,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in nLight by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,864,312 shares of the company's stock worth $144,130,000 after purchasing an additional 747,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of nLight by 537.8% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 631,486 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,711,000 after purchasing an additional 532,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on LASR shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded nLight to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.31.

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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