Zacks Research Upgrades nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating increased confidence in the stock's potential.
• nLight's stock price target was raised by Needham & Company LLC from $18.00 to $28.00, while the company has a current average rating of "buy" and a consensus price target of $27.42.
• Insider trading activity included CEO Scott H. Keeney selling 62,507 shares for approximately $1.94 million, which represents a 2.62% decrease in his ownership of the company.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of nLight from $18.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up previously from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.42.

nLight Price Performance

nLight stock opened at $31.70 on Wednesday. nLight has a 52 week low of $6.20 and a 52 week high of $33.55. The company's 50 day moving average price is $29.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.37 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a quick ratio of 4.41, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 19.12% and a negative net margin of 21.66%.The business's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities analysts predict that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 62,507 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,319,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,866,987.62. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $106,671.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 265,418 shares in the company, valued at $7,890,877.14. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 374,980 shares of company stock worth $10,650,501 in the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LASR. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in nLight by 147.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of nLight by 1,599.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of nLight by 162.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in nLight in the second quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in nLight by 213.8% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 3,246 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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