nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Short Interest Up 16.2% in April

Key Points

• Short interest rose 16.2% in April to 3,360,047 shares (about 6.3% of shares short) with a days-to-cover ratio of 2.6 based on average daily volume of ~1.31M shares.
• Analysts are largely positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $63.44; several firms (including Raymond James, Roth MKM, Stifel, Needham and Robert W. Baird) have issued buy/outperform ratings and targets up to $95.
• Insiders sold 130,780 shares worth $8.03M in the past 90 days (notably a director and the CFO), leaving insiders with 6.10% ownership of the company.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,360,047 shares, an increase of 16.2% from the March 31st total of 2,891,460 shares. Approximately 6.3% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,311,343 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LASR shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, February 27th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Raymond A. Link sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 92,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,847.04. The trade was a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 13,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $807,834.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 183,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,350,204.56. This trade represents a 6.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 130,780 shares of company stock worth $8,032,729 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of nLight by 155.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in shares of nLight in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in nLight during the third quarter worth about $41,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

nLight Price Performance

NASDAQ LASR traded up $3.22 on Thursday, hitting $68.19. 315,545 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,559,429. The business's fifty day moving average is $64.58 and its 200 day moving average is $47.56. nLight has a 52 week low of $7.63 and a 52 week high of $80.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of -145.07 and a beta of 2.27.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $81.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.71 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 8.98% and a negative return on equity of 9.28%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.30) earnings per share. Analysts predict that nLight will post -0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. 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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