nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• nLight's stock reached a new 52-week high at $29.73, with a recent trade price of $29.53, reflecting a positive trend in its share prices.
• Multiple analysts have recently upgraded their price targets for nLight, with forecasts ranging from $24.00 to $28.00, indicating strong overall support from the investment community.
• The company reported a 22.2% increase in revenue year-over-year, with quarterly earnings of $0.06 per share, surpassing analyst expectations.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $29.73 and last traded at $29.53, with a volume of 126402 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on nLight from $18.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Craig Hallum reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped 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. Benchmark upped their price target on nLight from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "speculative buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, nLight currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $26.42.

nLight Stock Up 3.6%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.14 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a quick ratio of 4.41, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $61.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.10) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. nLight has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 38,284 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.29, for a total value of $1,083,054.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 273,118 shares in the company, valued at $7,726,508.22. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 35,732 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.29, for a total value of $1,010,858.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,513,734 shares in the company, valued at $71,113,534.86. This trade represents a 1.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 333,518 shares of company stock worth $7,941,054 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in nLight in the second quarter valued at about $2,546,000. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in nLight by 37.2% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 20,251 shares of the company's stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 5,489 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in nLight in the second quarter valued at about $364,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in nLight in the second quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in nLight by 213.8% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 3,246 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.

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