nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $18.87 and last traded at $18.75, with a volume of 163305 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LASR shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on nLight from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Craig Hallum raised nLight from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, nLight has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $15.70.

nLight Stock Performance

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 50 day moving average of $12.45 and a 200 day moving average of $10.79. The firm has a market cap of $908.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.26 and a beta of 2.27.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.13. nLight had a negative return on equity of 22.23% and a negative net margin of 26.80%. The business had revenue of $51.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the company'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 transaction of $177,292.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 166,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,931,298.44. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 4,063 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.01, for a total value of $77,237.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,277,477 shares in the company, valued at $24,284,837.77. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 161,917 shares of company stock worth $2,666,667 over the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in nLight during the first quarter valued at approximately $371,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of nLight by 622.7% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 77,201 shares of the company's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 66,518 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of nLight by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,593 shares of the company's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of nLight during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,763,000. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of nLight by 228.8% during the 1st quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 412,555 shares of the company's stock worth $3,206,000 after purchasing an additional 287,079 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.