nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) achieved a new 52-week high, trading at $28.43, with a market cap of $1.36 billion.
• Several analysts raised their target prices for nLight, with Cantor Fitzgerald and Needham & Company boosting their targets to $27.50 and $28.00 respectively, contributing to a consensus "Buy" rating.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.06 per share, outperforming expectations and showing a revenue increase of 22.2% year-over-year.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $28.43 and last traded at $27.25, with a volume of 949733 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LASR shares. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on nLight from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "speculative buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on nLight from $12.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on nLight from $14.00 to $27.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on nLight from $18.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $26.42.

nLight Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.27 and a beta of 2.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 4.41.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.15. nLight had a negative return on equity of 19.12% and a negative net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $61.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.10) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other nLight news, CAO James Nias sold 1,113 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.73, for a total value of $29,750.49. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 103,082 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,755,381.86. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 166,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,931,298.44. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 203,028 shares of company stock valued at $3,475,052. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in nLight by 147.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in nLight by 3,951.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,687 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 3,596 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in nLight by 162.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Militia Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in nLight during the 2nd quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in nLight by 213.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,764 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 3,246 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

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.