nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Hits New 12-Month High After 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) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock from $27.50 to $33.50. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. nLight 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 recently issued research reports about the company. 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. Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price target (up previously from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, August 8th. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $27.42.

Insider Activity at nLight

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 38,284 shares of the 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 $1,083,054.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 273,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,726,508.22. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 35,732 shares of the 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 $1,010,858.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,513,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 337,080 shares of company stock valued at $9,048,167. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in nLight by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 209,644 shares of the company's stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 87,788 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in nLight by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,667,332 shares of the company's stock worth $28,495,000 after purchasing an additional 74,163 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp bought a new position in nLight during the first quarter worth $388,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in nLight by 140.4% during the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,207,580 shares of the company's stock worth $9,383,000 after purchasing an additional 705,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keeley Teton Advisors LLC lifted its stake in nLight by 89.7% during the first quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 127,356 shares of the company's stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 60,221 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

nLight Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.19 and a 200-day moving average of $16.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.29 and a beta of 2.44. 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 data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted ($0.10) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. nLight has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

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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