nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Sells $1,997,528.44 in Stock

Key Points

• CEO Scott Keeney sold 32,239 shares on March 5 at an average of $61.96 for a total of $1,997,528.44, trimming his stake by 1.41% to 2,252,781 shares (about $139.6M).
• nLight beat the quarter with $0.14 EPS vs. $0.11 expected and revenue of $81.19M (up 71.3% YoY), but remains unprofitable with negative net margin and return on equity and analysts forecast -1.1 EPS for the year.
• LASR trades near $61 with a 12‑month range of $6.20–$69.52 and a market cap of ~$3.4B; analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $58.31 and individual targets as high as $95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) CEO Scott Keeney sold 32,239 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $1,997,528.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,252,781 shares in the company, valued at $139,582,310.76. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

nLight Price Performance

LASR stock traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $61.00. 1,689,616 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,992,397. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.16. nLight has a 12 month low of $6.20 and a 12 month high of $69.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.79 and a beta of 2.27.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $81.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.71 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 9.28% and a negative net margin of 8.98%.The company's revenue was up 71.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.30) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of nLight

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of nLight by 7,871.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in nLight by 7,142.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in nLight by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,485,000 after buying an additional 341,948 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in nLight in the 4th quarter worth $353,000. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in nLight by 176.5% in the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 30,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 19,544 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LASR. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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