nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Benchmark Analyst Says

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 price objective upped by analysts at Benchmark from $15.00 to $25.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "speculative buy" rating on the stock. Benchmark's price target suggests a potential downside of 0.22% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on LASR. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on nLight from $18.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Craig Hallum reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up previously from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on nLight from $12.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $23.70.

nLight Stock Up 22.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:LASR traded up $4.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.05. 1,028,849 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 578,609. nLight has a 52-week low of $6.20 and a 52-week high of $27.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $18.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.63 and a current ratio of 5.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -22.27 and a beta of 2.35.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.15. nLight had a negative return on equity of 22.23% and a negative net margin of 26.80%. The company had revenue of $61.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.24 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.10) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at nLight

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.33, for a total value of $1,149,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,342,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,587,070.91. This trade represents a 5.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.62, for a total transaction of $177,292.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 166,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,931,298.44. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 201,915 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,301 over the last three months. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Senvest Management LLC increased its stake in nLight by 114.1% in the fourth quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 2,481,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322,637 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new position in nLight in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,763,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in nLight by 140.4% in the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,207,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,383,000 after acquiring an additional 705,215 shares during the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new position in nLight in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,810,000. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC increased its stake in nLight by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 2,652,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,821,000 after acquiring an additional 314,375 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently 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.

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