nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Given New $28.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC raised its price target for nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) from $18.00 to $28.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.21% based on the stock's current price.
• nLight recently reported earnings of $0.06 EPS for the quarter, surpassing expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 22.2%.
• Insiders have sold a total of 201,915 shares over the last quarter, indicating a 5.29% decrease in CEO Scott H. Keeney's ownership and a 5.70% decrease in CFO Joseph John Corso's stake.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $18.00 to $28.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.21% from the stock's current price.

Separately, Craig Hallum reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up previously from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a research note on Thursday, June 26th.

nLight Stock Up 17.7%

LASR stock opened at $24.09 on Friday. nLight has a 52 week low of $6.20 and a 52 week high of $26.21. The company has a quick ratio of 4.63, a current ratio of 5.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.32 and a beta of 2.35.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $61.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.24 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 22.23% and a negative net margin of 26.80%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.10) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.33, for a total transaction of $1,149,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,342,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,587,070.91. This trade represents a 5.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of nLight stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.62, for a total value of $177,292.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 166,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,931,298.44. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 201,915 shares of company stock worth $3,445,301 over the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in nLight by 147.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of nLight by 3,951.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,687 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 3,596 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of nLight by 162.4% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of nLight in the second quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of nLight in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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