nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• nLight received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 11 analysts: eight rated it a buy, one a strong buy, one a hold and one a sell. The average 12-month price target is $87.94.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.15 versus estimates of $0.14 and revenue of $82.59 million versus $78.58 million. Revenue increased 33.8% year over year, though nLight remained unprofitable with a negative 4.02% net margin.
• Insiders sold 193,595 shares worth approximately $14.3 million over the past quarter, primarily to cover tax obligations tied to equity awards, while institutional investors own 83.88% of the stock.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.9375.

A number of research firms recently commented on LASR. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Craig Hallum raised their price target on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of nLight from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th.

nLight Trading Up 2.7%

nLight stock opened at $54.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.09. nLight has a 12 month low of $24.87 and a 12 month high of $86.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of -216.00 and a beta of 2.31.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $82.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.58 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 4.02% and a negative return on equity of 2.83%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that nLight will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other news, CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total value of $73,310.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 97,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,613,461.79. This trade represents a 0.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total value of $278,259.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 169,915 shares in the company, valued at $12,386,803.50. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 193,595 shares of company stock valued at $14,273,701. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in nLight by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in nLight by 0.7% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 41,808 shares of the company's stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in nLight by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,745 shares of the company's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in nLight by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in nLight by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. 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. 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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