nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Upgraded to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on LASR. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird began coverage on nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.81.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of LASR opened at $73.91 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of -246.36 and a beta of 2.34. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $10.55 and a fifty-two week high of $86.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 5.17% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.nLight's revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 19,096 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total transaction of $1,122,844.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,210,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $129,949,705.20. This represents a 0.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 12,290 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.39, for a total transaction of $742,193.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 170,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,320,409.44. This trade represents a 6.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 130,780 shares of company stock valued at $8,032,729 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of nLight

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in nLight by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,989,758 shares of the company's stock worth $187,166,000 after purchasing an additional 125,446 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC boosted its position in nLight by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,740 shares of the company's stock worth $69,684,000 after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in nLight by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company's stock worth $52,485,000 after purchasing an additional 341,948 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in nLight by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,234,696 shares of the company's stock worth $46,320,000 after purchasing an additional 20,043 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in nLight during the 4th quarter worth $41,315,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight posted Q1 EPS of $0.20 versus the $0.08 consensus estimate, while revenue of $80.18 million topped expectations and rose 55.2% year over year, signaling much stronger demand for its laser products. nLIGHT, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company also issued Q2 revenue guidance of $75 million to $81 million, above the Street’s estimate, which suggests momentum may continue into the next quarter. nLIGHT, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management said results were driven by strength in aerospace and defense, and the launch of the new HADES directed-energy product line adds another growth catalyst tied to military demand. nLIGHT, Inc. Launches HADES™ Line of Directed Energy Products
• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target on LASR to $80 from $70 and reiterated a buy rating, reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment after the earnings report. Benzinga report
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted the company’s Q1 outperformance and defense-demand momentum, but did not add materially new fundamentals beyond the earnings release. nLight (LASR) Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates

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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