Needham & Company LLC Boosts nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Price Target to $28.00

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 - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Needham & Company LLC from $18.00 to $28.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Separately, Craig Hallum reiterated 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.42.

nLight Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ LASR traded up $1.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $27.63. 502,998 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 600,550. nLight has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $28.00. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.08 and a beta of 2.35. The business's 50-day moving average price is $19.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.09.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.15. The company had revenue of $61.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.24 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 19.01% and a negative net margin of 21.66%. nLight's quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.10) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 75,000 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,342,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,587,070.91. The trade was a 5.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.62, for a total value of $177,292.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 166,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,931,298.44. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 201,915 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,301 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of nLight by 147.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in nLight by 3,951.6% in 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 during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in nLight by 162.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in nLight during the second quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in nLight during the fourth quarter worth about $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.