nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $14.22, but opened at $13.46. nLIGHT shares last traded at $14.26, with a volume of 137,368 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Craig Hallum upgraded shares of nLIGHT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, nLIGHT has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.90.

nLIGHT Trading Up 1.5%

The firm has a market cap of $713.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.05 and a beta of 2.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.01.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $51.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.77 million. nLIGHT had a negative return on equity of 19.53% and a negative net margin of 24.16%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLIGHT

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. Senvest Management LLC increased its position in nLIGHT by 114.1% during the fourth quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 2,481,677 shares of the company's stock worth $26,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322,637 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new position in nLIGHT during the first quarter worth $6,763,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in nLIGHT by 140.4% during the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,207,580 shares of the company's stock worth $9,383,000 after acquiring an additional 705,215 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC increased its position in nLIGHT by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 2,652,115 shares of the company's stock worth $27,821,000 after acquiring an additional 314,375 shares during the period. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. increased its position in nLIGHT by 29.5% during the first quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 1,319,917 shares of the company's stock worth $10,256,000 after acquiring an additional 300,924 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.