Weiss Ratings Reaffirms "Sell (D-)" Rating for nLight (NASDAQ:LASR)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "sell (D-)" rating for nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) in a recent research report, indicating continued concerns about the stock's performance.
• Despite the negative outlook from Weiss Ratings, other analysts have varying opinions, with Cantor Fitzgerald raising its price target significantly and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Insider trading activity has shown significant sales by executives, with CFO Joseph John Corso selling over 38,000 shares and CEO Scott H. Keeney selling more than 62,000 shares recently.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reissued by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

LASR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on nLight from $27.50 to $33.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen cut nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Benchmark upped their price target on nLight from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "speculative buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on nLight from $18.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price target (up previously from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.42.

nLight Stock Up 2.3%

LASR opened at $30.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.57. The company has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of -32.18 and a beta of 2.48. nLight has a 1 year low of $6.20 and a 1 year high of $32.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.41 and a current ratio of 5.63.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $61.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.24 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 21.66% and a negative return on equity of 19.12%. The company's revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.10) EPS. nLight has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at nLight

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 38,284 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.29, for a total transaction of $1,083,054.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 273,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,726,508.22. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 62,507 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.99, for a total value of $1,937,091.93. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,319,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,866,987.62. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 374,980 shares of company stock valued at $10,650,501. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of nLight by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,667,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,495,000 after acquiring an additional 74,163 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of nLight during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $388,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in shares of nLight by 140.4% during the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,207,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,383,000 after acquiring an additional 705,215 shares in the last quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of nLight by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 127,356 shares of the company's stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 60,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of nLight by 322.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 11,884 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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