nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $14.00 to $18.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. nLight traded as high as $19.64 and last traded at $19.42, with a volume of 139591 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.29.

Separately, Craig Hallum raised shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $17.70.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 30,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.18, for a total value of $593,410.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,246,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,908,598.84. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.62, for a total transaction of $177,292.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,931,298.44. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 168,233 shares of company stock valued at $2,787,492. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in nLight by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 2,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of nLight by 6,563.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4,791 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 3,951.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 3,596 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of nLight during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of nLight by 110.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,754 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

nLight Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $968.53 million, a P/E ratio of -17.34 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.54 and a 200-day moving average of $11.03. The company has a quick ratio of 4.63, a current ratio of 5.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.13. nLight had a negative net margin of 26.80% and a negative return on equity of 22.23%. The company had revenue of $51.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

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.