nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• nLight shares surged to a new 52-week high after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from hold to buy. The stock briefly hit $86.95 and last traded up sharply from the prior close.
• The company’s recent earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $0.20 versus $0.08 expected and revenue of $80.18 million topping estimates by a wide margin. Revenue also jumped 55.2% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment and outlook have turned more bullish, with multiple firms raising targets or reiterating buy ratings, including a consensus “Moderate Buy” and a $67.81 average price target. Management also guided Q2 revenue above Street estimates.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Saturday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $86.95 and last traded at $73.91, with a volume of 3786882 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.19.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 19,096 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total value of $1,122,844.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,210,029 shares in the company, valued at $129,949,705.20. This represents a 0.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 12,290 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.39, for a total value of $742,193.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 170,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,320,409.44. This represents a 6.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 130,780 shares of company stock worth $8,032,729 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight posted Q1 EPS of $0.20 versus the $0.08 consensus estimate, while revenue of $80.18 million topped expectations and rose 55.2% year over year, signaling much stronger demand for its laser products. nLIGHT, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company also issued Q2 revenue guidance of $75 million to $81 million, above the Street’s estimate, which suggests momentum may continue into the next quarter. nLIGHT, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management said results were driven by strength in aerospace and defense, and the launch of the new HADES directed-energy product line adds another growth catalyst tied to military demand. nLIGHT, Inc. Launches HADES™ Line of Directed Energy Products
• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target on LASR to $80 from $70 and reiterated a buy rating, reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment after the earnings report. Benzinga report
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted the company’s Q1 outperformance and defense-demand momentum, but did not add materially new fundamentals beyond the earnings release. nLight (LASR) Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,989,758 shares of the company's stock worth $187,166,000 after buying an additional 125,446 shares in the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of nLight by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,684,000 after acquiring an additional 65,000 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of nLight by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company's stock worth $52,485,000 after acquiring an additional 341,948 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in nLight by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,234,696 shares of the company's stock worth $46,320,000 after acquiring an additional 20,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in nLight during the 4th quarter valued at $41,315,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

nLight Trading Up 11.7%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -246.36 and a beta of 2.34.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 5.17% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The business's revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that nLight will post -0.43 earnings per share 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. The company also provides laser sensors, including light detection and ranging technologies for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications; and fiber amplifiers, beam combination, and control systems for use in high-energy laser systems in directed energy applications.

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