nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price Down 9.8% - What's Next?

Key Points

• nLight shares plunged about 9.8% to $60.44 on Thursday, with roughly 1.19 million shares traded—about 21% below its average daily volume.
• The company beat quarterly revenue ($81.19M vs. $76.71M) and EPS ($0.14 vs. $0.11) with revenue up 71.3% YoY, but remains unprofitable (negative net margin and ROE) and analysts project roughly -1.1 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $58.31 (below the current price), and insiders including the CEO and CFO recently sold shares, leaving insider ownership at about 4.7%.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) was down 9.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $60.26 and last traded at $60.44. Approximately 1,185,469 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 1,501,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on LASR shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised nLight to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on nLight in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, nLight presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.31.

nLight Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $47.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -127.74 and a beta of 2.27.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03. nLight had a negative net margin of 8.98% and a negative return on equity of 9.28%. The business had revenue of $81.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $1,190,867.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,285,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $85,711,100.20. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total value of $2,399,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,126,855.68. This represents a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in nLight by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in nLight by 622.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 77,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 66,518 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in nLight by 162.4% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in nLight during the second quarter worth approximately $731,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in nLight by 100.6% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 140,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 70,236 shares during the period. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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