nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• nLight's stock reached a new 12-month high at $32.58, closing at $31.98 with a trading volume of 155,931 shares.
• Analysts have revised their price targets for nLight, with Cantor Fitzgerald raising it to $33.50, while the consensus price target stands at $27.42.
• Despite a reported 22.2% year-over-year revenue increase, nLight posted a negative net margin of 21.66% and a negative return on equity of 19.12% for the latest quarter.

Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $32.58 and last traded at $31.98, with a volume of 155931 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LASR. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of nLight from $12.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of nLight from $27.50 to $33.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price target (up previously from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, nLight has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.42.

nLight Trading Up 2.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 4.41, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.24. The company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.03 and a beta of 2.48.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $61.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.24 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 19.12% and a negative net margin of 21.66%.The business's revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.10) EPS. nLight has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 38,284 shares of nLight stock in a transaction 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 owned 273,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,726,508.22. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 62,507 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.99, for a total value of $1,937,091.93. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,319,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,866,987.62. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 374,980 shares of company stock valued at $10,650,501 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of nLight

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in nLight by 6,563.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4,791 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in nLight by 190.5% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 94,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 61,783 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in nLight by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 114,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 11,700 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its holdings in nLight by 140.4% in 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 during the period. Finally, AMH Equity Ltd purchased a new stake in nLight in the 1st quarter valued at about $932,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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