nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Cantor Fitzgerald Analyst Says

Key Points

• nLight's target price was raised by Cantor Fitzgerald from $27.50 to $33.50, indicating a potential upside of 16.85% from its current price.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $0.06 earnings per share (EPS), compared to an expected loss of -$0.09.
• Institutional ownership of nLight is strong, with 83.88% of the stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Cantor Fitzgerald from $27.50 to $33.50 in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for nLight's FY2025 earnings at ($0.40) EPS and FY2026 earnings at ($0.38) EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on LASR. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of nLight from $12.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set 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 research note on Friday, August 8th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of nLight from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "speculative buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of nLight from $18.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $27.42.

nLight Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:LASR traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $31.61. 485,827 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 644,431. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.87 and a 200 day moving average of $16.53. nLight has a 12 month low of $6.20 and a 12 month high of $31.93. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.29 and a beta of 2.44.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.15. nLight had a negative net margin of 21.66% and a negative return on equity of 19.12%. The company had revenue of $61.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.10) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. nLight has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts predict that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 38,284 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 273,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,726,508.22. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 35,732 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 value of $1,010,858.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,513,734 shares in the company, valued at $71,113,534.86. The trade was a 1.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 346,155 shares of company stock valued at $9,371,219 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in nLight by 1,599.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of nLight in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,546,000. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in nLight by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 20,251 shares of the company's stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 5,489 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in nLight during the 2nd quarter worth about $364,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in nLight during the 2nd quarter worth about $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

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.