nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• nLight shares rose 13.7% and moved above their 50-day moving average of $38.48, reaching $44.21 intraday before last trading at $43.21.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.16 versus $0.05 estimated and revenue of $73.76 million versus $68.16 million; revenue grew 10.5% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $82.06, despite some recent downgrades. Insiders sold 621,149 shares worth about $27.2 million over the past 90 days.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.48 and traded as high as $44.21. nLight shares last traded at $43.21, with a volume of 1,936,073 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut nLight from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on nLight in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised nLight from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, nLight presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.06.

nLight Trading Up 13.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -187.87 and a beta of 2.46. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $38.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.20.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $73.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.16 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 4.02% and a negative return on equity of 2.83%. The company's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that nLight will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 181,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total transaction of $8,520,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,185,039 shares in the company, valued at $102,434,628.32. This represents a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Joseph Corso sold 4,191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.69, for a total value of $170,531.79. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 165,724 shares in the company, valued at $6,743,309.56. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 621,149 shares of company stock valued at $27,153,700 over the last ninety days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of nLight during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $339,687,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new stake in nLight during the second quarter valued at $65,374,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in shares of nLight by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 749,079 shares of the company's stock worth $29,173,000 after buying an additional 36,543 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of nLight by 743.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 422,295 shares of the company's stock worth $16,446,000 after buying an additional 372,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of nLight by 2,995.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 406,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,309,000 after buying an additional 393,488 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company's stock.

About nLight

nLIGHT, Inc develops and manufactures lasers and related photonics products for industrial, aerospace and defense applications. Its offerings include high-power semiconductor lasers, fiber lasers and ultrafast lasers, along with components and systems used to deliver and control laser energy.

The company's products support applications such as materials processing and other industrial tasks, as well as defense technologies including directed-energy systems. nLIGHT serves customers in the United States and international markets.

Founded in 2000, nLIGHT is headquartered in Camas, Washington.

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