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

Key Points

• nLight has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 12 analysts, with 9 buy ratings and an average 1-year price target of about $67.81. Several firms recently reiterated bullish views, including target prices as high as $100.
• The company reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $0.20 versus the $0.08 estimate and revenue of $80.18 million, up 55.2% year over year and above expectations. nLight also guided Q2 revenue to $75 million to $81 million, ahead of Street estimates.
• Investor activity has been mixed: insiders sold shares in recent months, while institutional ownership remains high at 83.88%. Major funds such as Vanguard and Invesco increased their stakes, signaling continued institutional interest.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $67.8125.

LASR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 17th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of nLight from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of nLight in a report on Friday.

nLight Trading Up 11.7%

Shares of LASR stock opened at $73.91 on Friday. nLight has a 12-month low of $10.55 and a 12-month high of $86.95. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $65.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative return on equity of 5.17% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The firm had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that nLight will post -0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In related news, CAO James Nias sold 3,249 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $201,308.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 95,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,930,005.72. This trade represents a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Raymond A. Link sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.79, for a total transaction of $627,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 92,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,812,847.04. This trade represents a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 130,780 shares of company stock valued at $8,032,729. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LASR. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in nLight in the fourth quarter worth $41,315,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in nLight by 377.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,057,281 shares of the company's stock worth $31,327,000 after buying an additional 835,720 shares during the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in nLight in the third quarter worth $22,809,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in nLight by 18.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,864,312 shares of the company's stock worth $144,130,000 after buying an additional 747,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in nLight by 537.8% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 631,486 shares of the company's stock worth $18,711,000 after buying an additional 532,470 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

nLight News Roundup

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

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.