nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• nLight's stock reached a new 52-week high of $30.56 after a price target upgrade by Cantor Fitzgerald from $27.50 to $33.50, maintaining an overweight rating.
• Multiple analysts have recently raised their price targets for nLight, indicating a bullish outlook, with an average target of $27.42 and a consensus rating of "Buy."
• Significant insider selling occurred on August 25, with CFO Joseph John Corso and CEO Scott H. Keeney selling shares valued over $2 million, reducing their ownership stakes.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The company traded as high as $30.56 and last traded at $29.73, with a volume of 1077322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.67.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on nLight from $18.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on nLight from $12.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price target (up previously from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on nLight from $27.50 to $33.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $27.42.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 35,732 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.29, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 38,284 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.29, for a total value of $1,083,054.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 273,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,726,508.22. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 346,155 shares of company stock valued at $9,371,219 in the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in nLight by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 209,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 87,788 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in nLight by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,667,332 shares of the company's stock worth $28,495,000 after buying an additional 74,163 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp bought a new position in nLight during the 1st quarter worth approximately $388,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in nLight by 140.4% during the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,207,580 shares of the company's stock worth $9,383,000 after buying an additional 705,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keeley Teton Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in nLight by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 127,356 shares of the company's stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 60,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

nLight Trading Down 0.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.41 and a current ratio of 5.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.68. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.82 and a beta of 2.44.

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. 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 the consensus estimate of $55.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.10) EPS. nLight's quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. nLight has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts anticipate that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.