nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Shares Down 6.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• nLight shares fell 6.6% to about $52.43, with trading volume 43% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an $87.94 price target; several firms recently raised their targets to between $85 and $100.
• The latest quarter exceeded expectations, with EPS of $0.15 versus $0.14 expected and revenue of $82.59 million, up 33.8% year over year. However, the company remains unprofitable, and insiders sold $28.4 million of stock over the last quarter.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 6.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $52.82 and last traded at $52.4320. 826,344 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 1,441,274 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LASR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Craig Hallum raised their target price on nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, nLight has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.94.

nLight Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of -207.38 and a beta of 2.31. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $67.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.81.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $82.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $78.58 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 3.19% and a negative net margin of 4.02%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. Analysts expect that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 16,089 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $1,200,239.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,185,039 shares in the company, valued at $163,003,909.40. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total transaction of $278,259.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 169,915 shares in the company, valued at $12,386,803.50. The trade was a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 sold 391,038 shares of company stock valued at $28,367,419. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of nLight

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LASR. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 1,599.1% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 155.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of nLight during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of nLight by 7,871.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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