Benchmark Issues Positive Forecast for nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price

Key Points

• Benchmark analysts have raised nLight's price target from $15 to $25, suggesting a potential downside from the current price, while other firms like Needham and Craig Hallum have also increased their price targets significantly.
• nLight's stock has increased by 22.4% due to positive earnings results, reporting earnings per share of $0.06, surpassing estimates and showing a 22.2% revenue growth year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity includes significant share sales by CEO Scott H. Keeney and CFO Joseph John Corso, representing a decrease in their stock holdings by over 5% each.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Benchmark from $15.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "speculative buy" rating on the stock. Benchmark's price objective indicates a potential downside of 9.75% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of nLight from $12.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of nLight from $18.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up previously from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.42.

nLight Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of nLight stock traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.70. 886,026 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 603,214. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.16 and a beta of 2.35. nLight has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $28.00. The company has a current ratio of 5.81, a quick ratio of 4.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.09.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.15. nLight had a negative return on equity of 19.01% and a negative net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $61.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.10) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.62, for a total transaction of $177,292.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 166,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,931,298.44. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 33,682 shares of nLight stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total transaction of $657,809.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,206,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,563,726.20. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 201,915 shares of company stock worth $3,445,301 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of nLight

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of nLight by 147.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in nLight by 3,951.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,687 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 3,596 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in nLight by 162.4% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in nLight during the second quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in nLight by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,911 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.