nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Trading Down 7.8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 7.8% to about $69.89 on Monday, trading as low as $69.09 with roughly 427,915 shares changing hands — about 73% below average daily volume.
• Analysts are mixed but the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $63.44, while individual ratings range from strong‑buy to sell.
• nLight beat last-quarter estimates (EPS $0.14 vs $0.11; revenue $81.19M, up 71% year‑over‑year) but still reports negative net margin and ROE, and insiders have sold about 130,780 shares in the past 90 days including CEO sales.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) dropped 7.8% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $69.09 and last traded at $69.8940. Approximately 427,915 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 1,579,714 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LASR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.44.

nLight Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -147.60 and a beta of 2.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.90.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. nLight had a negative return on equity of 9.28% and a negative net margin of 8.98%.The firm had revenue of $81.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.30) EPS. The business's revenue was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that nLight will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 32,239 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $1,997,528.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,252,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $139,582,310.76. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO James Nias sold 3,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $201,308.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 95,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,930,005.72. This represents a 3.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 130,780 shares of company stock worth $8,032,729 over the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of nLight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,315,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of nLight by 377.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,057,281 shares of the company's stock worth $31,327,000 after buying an additional 835,720 shares during the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of nLight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $22,809,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of nLight by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,864,312 shares of the company's stock worth $144,130,000 after buying an additional 747,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of nLight by 537.8% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 631,486 shares of the company's stock worth $18,711,000 after buying an additional 532,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company's stock.

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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