Polar Capital Holdings Plc Takes $2.26 Million Position in nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new stake in shares of nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 215,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,259,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned approximately 0.44% of nLIGHT at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 2,907 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in nLIGHT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,596 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in nLIGHT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in nLIGHT by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,864 shares of the company's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, nLIGHT presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $14.90.

nLIGHT Price Performance

LASR traded up $0.31 on Thursday, hitting $13.76. The company had a trading volume of 174,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 350,416. nLIGHT, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.20 and a 1-year high of $14.73. The stock has a market cap of $680.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.35 and a beta of 2.02. The company's fifty day moving average price is $8.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.99.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $47.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLIGHT

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total transaction of $437,184.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,267,927 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,963.59. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.70% 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.