nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price Down 7% - What's Next?

Key Points

• nLight shares fell 7% to about $44.09, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $63.82 and $65.13, respectively.
• Despite the decline, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $87.94; recent targets range from $85 to $100.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.15 in EPS and $82.59 million in revenue, up 33.8% year over year, although it remains unprofitable and insiders sold $8.8 million of stock during the last quarter.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 7% on Monday . The company traded as low as $44.05 and last traded at $44.0850. 239,359 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 1,435,411 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on LASR shares. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, nLight has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.94.

nLight Stock Down 6.4%

The stock has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -177.32 and a beta of 2.31. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $63.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.13.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. nLight had a negative net margin of 4.02% and a negative return on equity of 2.83%. The company had revenue of $82.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. nLight's revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other 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 transaction 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 approximately $163,003,909.40. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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, CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total transaction of $73,310.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 97,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,613,461.79. This trade represents a 0.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 116,331 shares of company stock valued at $8,834,029 in the last quarter. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in nLight by 7,636.1% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,262,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,744,000 after buying an additional 4,207,248 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of nLight during the 2nd quarter valued at $131,000. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in nLight during the second quarter worth about $444,000. GTS Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of nLight in the second quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of nLight by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 80,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,635,000 after acquiring an additional 3,482 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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