nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's Why

nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Saturday . The company traded as high as $14.82 and last traded at $14.49, with a volume of 1687892 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LASR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of nLIGHT from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Craig Hallum raised shares of nLIGHT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $15.70.

nLIGHT Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $759.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.97 and a beta of 2.02. The firm's fifty day moving average is $9.30 and its 200 day moving average is $10.06.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.13. nLIGHT had a negative net margin of 24.16% and a negative return on equity of 19.53%. The business had revenue of $51.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. nLIGHT's revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total value of $437,184.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,267,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,358,963.59. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 57,184 shares of company stock worth $475,534 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLIGHT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 2,907 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in nLIGHT during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in nLIGHT by 3,951.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,687 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 3,596 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 4,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in nLIGHT during the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. 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.