nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CFO Joseph John Corso Sells 12,290 Shares

Key Points

• CFO Joseph John Corso sold 12,290 shares on March 6 at an average price of $60.39 for about $742,193, reducing his stake by 6.71%; he also made recent sales on March 5 (13,038 shares) and December 15 (66,075 shares), indicating a pattern of insider selling.
• nLight reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.14 versus a $0.11 consensus and revenue of $81.19 million, up 71.3% year‑over‑year.
• Market sentiment is broadly positive: shares traded up ~4% to $61, the company has a $3.4B market cap, institutional ownership of 83.9%, and analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $58.31 and several raised price targets.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) CFO Joseph John Corso sold 12,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.39, for a total value of $742,193.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 170,896 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,409.44. This trade represents a 6.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Joseph John Corso also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 5th, Joseph John Corso sold 13,038 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $807,834.48.
• On Monday, December 15th, Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total transaction of $2,399,844.00.

nLight Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:LASR traded up $2.36 on Monday, reaching $61.00. 1,689,616 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,992,397. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.79 and a beta of 2.27. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $69.52. The business's 50-day moving average is $49.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.16.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LASR. 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of nLight by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company's stock worth $52,485,000 after buying an additional 341,948 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in nLight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $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 buying an additional 19,544 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on LASR. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research lowered nLight from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, nLight has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.31.

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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