nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price Up 15.4% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• nLight shares rose 15.4% to $43.86, up from the prior close of $38.02.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.16 versus $0.05 forecast and revenue of $73.76 million versus $68.16 million expected; revenue grew 10.5% year over year.
• Analyst views are mixed but lean positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an $82.06 average price target, while some firms have downgraded the stock to Hold and one rates it Sell.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 15.4% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $43.45 and last traded at $43.86. 1,041,435 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 1,354,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LASR. Zacks Research cut nLight from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on nLight in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of nLight from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, nLight presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.06.

nLight Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -189.77 and a beta of 2.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.21.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $73.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.16 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 4.02% and a negative return on equity of 1.09%. The firm's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that nLight will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other nLight news, CEO Scott Keeney sold 181,750 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total transaction of $8,520,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,185,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $102,434,628.32. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Joseph Corso sold 4,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.69, for a total value of $170,531.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 165,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,743,309.56. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 621,149 shares of company stock valued at $27,153,700. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of nLight during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in nLight during the 1st quarter worth about $70,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of nLight by 849.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,665 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of nLight in the second quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in nLight by 119.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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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