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

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded nLight from “hold” to “strong-buy,” adding to a generally bullish analyst backdrop. The stock now has a consensus “Buy” rating with a consensus price target of $75.50.
• nLight reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.20 versus the $0.08 estimate and revenue of $80.18 million versus $72.14 million expected. Revenue jumped 55.2% year over year, though profitability remained negative.
• The shares were down 9.6% on Monday to an opening price of $59.01 despite the favorable analyst and earnings news. Insider selling was also notable, including recent sales by CEO Scott H. Keeney and CFO Joseph John Corso.

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

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LASR. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. William Blair started coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of nLight from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.50.

nLight Trading Down 9.6%

NASDAQ:LASR opened at $59.01 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -196.69 and a beta of 2.30. nLight has a twelve month low of $17.84 and a twelve month high of $86.95. The company's 50-day moving average price is $70.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.07.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. nLight's quarterly revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. On average, analysts expect that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at nLight

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 46,735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $3,200,412.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,375,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,675,541.12. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 177,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,501,068.80. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 391,038 shares of company stock worth $28,367,419. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in nLight by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of nLight by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 41,808 shares of the company's stock worth $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of nLight by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,745 shares of the company's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in nLight by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $997,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in nLight by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company's stock.

nLight Company Profile

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. The company also provides laser sensors, including light detection and ranging technologies for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications; and fiber amplifiers, beam combination, and control systems for use in high-energy laser systems in directed energy applications.

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