nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Key Points

• Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus raised nLight's price target from $12.00 to $26.00, suggesting a 3.78% potential upside from the current stock price, and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• nLight reported a 22.2% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share of $0.06, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Insider selling was noted as CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 75,000 shares, decreasing his ownership by 5.29%, while other executives also made significant sales during the same period.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $12.00 to $26.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' target price points to a potential downside of 6.14% from the stock's previous close.

LASR has been the topic of several other reports. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on nLight from $18.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $26.42.

nLight Stock Up 4.6%

NASDAQ:LASR traded up $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.70. 886,026 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 603,214. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.16 and a beta of 2.35. nLight has a 1 year low of $6.20 and a 1 year high of $28.00. The company has a current ratio of 5.81, a quick ratio of 4.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business's 50-day moving average price is $19.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.09.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.15. The business had revenue of $61.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.24 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 19.01% and a negative net margin of 21.66%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.10) EPS. Analysts predict that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 33,682 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total transaction of $657,809.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,206,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,563,726.20. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 166,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,931,298.44. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 201,915 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,301. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Senvest Management LLC raised its stake in shares of nLight by 114.1% in the fourth quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 2,481,677 shares of the company's stock worth $26,033,000 after buying an additional 1,322,637 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of nLight during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,763,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position in shares of nLight by 140.4% during the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,207,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,383,000 after buying an additional 705,215 shares in the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of nLight during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,810,000. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of nLight by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 2,652,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,821,000 after buying an additional 314,375 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.