nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Shares Up 6.1% - What's Next?

nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 6.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $18.37 and last traded at $18.36. Approximately 590,041 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 53% from the average daily volume of 385,411 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LASR shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on nLIGHT from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Craig Hallum upgraded nLIGHT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $15.70.

nLIGHT Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.33. The stock has a market cap of $870.13 million, a PE ratio of -17.09 and a beta of 2.27.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.13. nLIGHT had a negative return on equity of 19.53% and a negative net margin of 24.16%. The company had revenue of $51.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. nLIGHT's revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at nLIGHT

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 40,680 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.07, for a total transaction of $653,727.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,281,540 shares in the company, valued at $20,594,347.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 116,853 shares of company stock worth $1,818,727 in the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLIGHT

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 2,907 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 6,563.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 4,791 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 3,951.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,687 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 3,596 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of nLIGHT in the 4th quarter worth $102,000. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 110.6% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,762 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 7,754 shares during the period. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.