nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded nLight from “buy” to “hold”, even though broader analyst sentiment remains constructive with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $80.94.
• nLight shares were trading around $69.25, and the stock is up 5.4% in the session referenced. The company has a $3.91 billion market cap and a 52-week range of $18.51 to $86.95.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $0.20 EPS versus $0.08 expected and revenue of $80.18 million, up 55.2% year over year. Insiders also sold shares in recent months, including the CFO and CEO, under pre-arranged trading plans.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on LASR. William Blair began coverage on nLight in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded nLight from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on nLight in a report on Friday, July 10th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.94.

nLight Stock Up 5.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:LASR opened at $69.25 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $70.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.60. nLight has a 12-month low of $18.51 and a 12-month high of $86.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of -230.83 and a beta of 2.30.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. 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 firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at nLight

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 177,572 shares in the company, valued at $12,501,068.80. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 46,735 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $3,200,412.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,375,519 shares in the company, valued at $162,675,541.12. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders sold 391,038 shares of company stock valued at $28,367,419 in the last ninety days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of nLight by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,989,758 shares of the company's stock worth $187,166,000 after purchasing an additional 125,446 shares during the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its position in nLight by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,740 shares of the company's stock worth $69,684,000 after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in nLight by 32.3% during the 4th 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. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in nLight by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,234,696 shares of the company's stock worth $46,320,000 after buying an additional 20,043 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of nLight in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,315,000. Institutional investors own 83.88% 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. 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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